Terminal Diagnosis
by Revan's Mask
Summary: In the closing stages of the Reaper War, Shepard must discover the true motivations behind the Illusive Man's modifications to her body and thwart his plans for her one last time. Meanwhile, Ashley Williams tries to sort out her feelings for Traynor. The final part of the trilogy containing Non-Elective Surgery and Outpatient Care. Please read all warnings and notes inside.
1. Chapter 1

**Story Notes: This is the third part of the series that started with Non-Elective Surgery and continued with Outpatient Care. Reading those stories will make it easier to understand what's going on in this one. We pick up the tale of our heroines towards the tail end of the Reaper War, in the middle of Priority: Thessia. By and large, you can assume that aside from what was seen in Outpatient Care, everything after Priority: Mars has played out more or less in accordance with ME3 canon with the following differences:**

**1) The Leviathan and Citadel DLCs do not exist**

**2) Kai Leng was killed by the good guys during the Citadel coup attempt because **

**a. Ashley wasn't interfering, since she was never injured on Mars. (See Outpatient Care for that story)**

**b. Kai Leng is an over-rated punk anyway.**

** Plus, c. reasons that will become apparent later on, as will those for the exclusion of the DLCs. Any other relevant differences will be noted in the story. I definitely did not originally intend for this to be a trilogy or to develop such a complex plot but here we are. Expect the story to diverge further from canon as it goes along; I've tried to imbed some subtle clues as to what's different in the earlier chapters. Plus, of course, there'll be plenty of the romance and smut you'd expect from this series. (Including futa!Shepard, for reasons that are explained in Non-Elective Surgery) Hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

Shepard stared at the glowing form of Vendetta, the green figure of the Prothean VI standing out clearly in the dim light of the Temple of Athame. It had been almost three years since she spoke to its counterpart on Ilos, and all that she had learned about the Protheans and Reapers during that time had only left her with more questions.

"What happened to the Crucible in your time?," she asked the program. "Why didn't the Protheans deploy it?

"We were sabotaged from within," the VI replied. "A splinter group argued we should dominate the Reapers rather than destroy them. It fractured our order of battle. Later, we discovered the separatists were indoctrinated."

Ashley nodded "That sounds familiar." Everything they had learned about Cerberus' plans suggested the Illusive Man had similar goals.

"Analysis of past ages led us to believe that time is cyclical," the VI concurred. "Many patterns repeat."

Without thinking, Shepard said the obvious. "Like the Reaper attacks."

"And beyond," Vendetta continued. "The same peaks of evolution. The same valleys of dissolution. The same conflicts are expressed in every cycle, but in a different manner. The repetition is too prevalent to be merely chance."

Liara's eyes lit up at the discussion of past cycles. She had devoted her life to studying those patterns of extinction and now, unprecedented information about them was within her reach. "We assumed the Reapers were responsible for the pattern."

"Perhaps. The only certainty is the outcome of the pattern: galactic annihilation. You now stand at its precipice."

Damned if Shepard didn't know that. The fall of Earth, the burning of much of Palaven, the destruction of the Geth, and now the attack on Thessia all confirmed that their time was fast running out. "There's still hope for this cycle," the Spectre insisted in spite of her fears. "We need to know what the Catalyst is. Trillions of lives are at risk."

The VI seemed unconcerned by this in the way that only a computer program could. "Trillions of lives are always at risk. But if the Reapers have arrived in your cycle, this discussion is too late."

"We can break the cycle." As dark as things had become recently, she simply had to believe that was true. What other choice did she have? "We found your plans for the Crucible. We're building it now."

She had not expected the VI's next words. "The Crucible is not of Prothean design," Vendetta corrected her. "It is the work of countless galactic cycles stretching back millions of years. Each cycle adds to it. Each improves upon it. Thus far, none have successfully defeated the Reapers with it."

All those failures. All that death. No more, she swore to herself. Not in this cycle. "Then we'll be the first. Tell us what the Catalyst is."

"If you wish to continue fighting, I will not hinder you, though I deem your odds of success remote."

She laughed bitterly at what passed for a generous gesture to this program. "We'll take our chances."

"Very well," it agreed. "If you have followed the plans for the Crucible, I will interface with your systems and assist with the Catalyst too…" Suddenly, it stopped speaking, its simulated eyes looking away at something Shepard couldn't see. "Indoctrinated presence detected," it informed them. "Activating security protocols."

The VI dissolved into a ball of light, reintegrating into the terminal it had emerged from, but Shepard was already turning in the other direction, her attention drawn by the sound of engines coming from beyond the entrance to the temple.

Hovering just outside was a Cerberus gunship and beneath it, a small group of enemy soldiers were entering the ancient structure. A half dozen troopers marched behind a pair of Phantoms, but what drew the commander's attention was the woman standing at their center. She was tall, wearing heavy armor and carrying a Harrier assault rifle, but beyond that there was something in her confidant bearing that seemed deeply familiar to the Spectre.

Shepard gestured in the direction of the bodies of the dead asari on the floor of the temple. "You," she growled at the Cerberus team. "You killed the scientists."

"They couldn't give me what I needed." The woman's voice was distorted by a device in her helmet, making it into a harsh, electronic rasp. "So I waited. You've been more helpful."

"We'll see about that," the commander snarled back.

Whipping out her Hurricane, Shepard rolled to her right while tossing a fragmentation grenade across her body. The nearest Phantom danced nimbly out of the way of the explosion, but two of the assault troopers weren't nearly as quick and they were blown to pieces by the blast, chunks of blood and metal streaking across the stone floor.

The other Phantom bore down on Liara but before she could reach the asari, the Shadow Broker raised her hand, trapping the Cerberus assassin in a stasis field. She'd been frustrated by the resistance of many of the larger Reaper units to her biotics, but in dealing with these accursed ninjas, as her bondmate sometimes called them, she excelled.

While Liara pulled out her pistol to finish off the trapped assassin, Shepard sprayed down a couple more of the troopers with submachine gun fire, leaving the leader for Ashley. Her Javelin was well-suited to dealing with tougher targets and her positioning in the back of the temple should have given her the space she needed to make the shot.

What Shepard hadn't expected was the woman's speed. As Ashley raised her rifle the Cerberus leader became a blur of motion. Shepard had always been the quickest soldier on the battlefield, but this woman could give her a run for her money. Weaving to the right, she easily evaded Ashley's shot, the sniper rifle round instead shattering one of the ancient statues that filled the temple. Before the marine could reload, the woman was on her, a burst of Harrier fire knocking down Ashley's shields before a powerful swing of the weapon sent the Javelin flying out of her hands.

"Liara!", Shepard barked as she ducked and weaved through the statues amid a hail of fire from the two remaining troopers and the Phantom. "On your seven." The asari had already executed the frozen Phantom, and she whirled at Shepard's words, tossing a bolt of biotic energy at the Cerberus leader. It caught her in the side and though her shields held, the blow bought enough time for Ashley to whip out her own assault rifle and slam it into her attacker's helmet, nearly knocking the piece of armor clean off. The woman staggered backwards, but even as Liara was raising her pistol to press the attack, her enemy fired a burst from her assault rifle, cracking the asari's barriers and sending her leaping behind a bench for cover.

Shepard couldn't worry about that just yet though, because the rest of the Cerberus forces were closing in on her from both sides, trying to flank the Spectre. Firing a concussive shot, she knocked the two remaining troopers off of their feet before swinging back around to face the springing Cerberus ninja. A slice of her sword penetrated Shepard's shields, and the blade dug into her armored gauntlet. Twisting her wrist, she wrenched the sword loose from the Phantom's grasp and she followed up with a swift burst from her submachine gun. The ninja danced backwards, her barrier pierced by a couple of the shots, and Shepard retreated as well, buying time for her own shields to regenerate even while she rolled a grenade at the stunned troopers pulling themselves to their feet.

Ashley leapt on the Cerberus leader, trying to grab her from behind, but the woman rolled with the impact before spinning around to come face to face with the Spectre. Ashley raised her assault rifle but as she locked eyes with her target, she hesitated. Shepard had never seen her do that before, but for just a moment, she froze, and her enemy took full advantage of whatever had distracted her. An omni-blade of brilliant orange appeared on her fist, and with a cry of anger, she plunged it deep into Ashley's chest.

"Ash!" As the second human Spectre crumpled to the ground with a massive hole in her armor, Shepard immediately forgot about her own attacker, hurling herself out of cover as she rushed towards her fallen comrade. The Cerberus leader was already moving away from Ashley, but Shepard's eyes were focused on the fountain of blood spurting from her friend's chest.

"You are not going to die on me, Ash," she growled, trying to reassure herself as much as give an order to her fallen friend. Dropping to one knee, she activated the medi-gel dispenser on her own armor and began applying the healing compound to the wound even as the armored woman was dashing towards the beacon.

The enemy's omni-tool interfaced with the temple computer and Liara leapt out of cover. So many asari had already died today to allow them to reach the temple, and if this woman succeeded in stealing the Prothean VI, their sacrifices would all have been in vain. The Shadow Broker hurled a powerful warp blast, trying to distract the Cerberus leader from her task, but her shields and armor absorbed the hit and she kept up what she was doing.

The asari raised her pistol to follow up while her biotics recharged. She had to take care not to damage the ancient machinery however and she narrowed her eyes, trying to get an unobstructed view of her enemy, when her back exploded into a sea of stabbing pains. Her barriers disintegrated under this new attack and instinctively, she threw herself to the ground as behind her, the gunship continued to fire its mini-gun, the flechettes making a mess of much of what remained of the once-beautiful temple.

Springing back to her feet, Shepard ran to cut off the escaping woman before she could make it to the gunship. Grenades were out of the question though; the risk of damaging the Prothean VI was too great. Raising her Hurricane, she leveled the gun, trying to get a clean head shot.

Only just in time did she see the heat shimmer of the Phantom as the ninja de-cloaked, having recovered her sword. Diving to the right, Shepard swung her submachine gun around and emptied the entire clip into the Cerberus assassin. The Phantom tried its usual dance, but this time Shepard was able to keep a clear target, and the rounds shredded not only the ninja's shields but also her lithe body.

Unfortunately, the attack had bought the Cerberus leader the time she needed. She was almost to the gunship now, and as it's mini-gun swiveled around towards her, Shepard was unable to do anything but dive for cover in the face of a hail of gunfire. The ship turned, allowing the woman to board, but before she could, Liara hurled a singularity in a final, desperate attempt to stop her retreat.

The woman was too strong. With a powerful effort, she wrenched free of the gravitational field and leapt on board her ship. Her helmet didn't make the trip though, the already-loose armor crashing to the bloody floor of the temple.

"So long, commander," the woman laughed, turning around to give the Spectre a final, mocking salute as her ship disappeared into the setting sun. Shepard, though, could find no words to reply because the only thought in her head was that the mocking face looking back at her was her own.


	2. Chapter 2

The shuttle ride back to the _Normandy _seemed to go on forever. Shepard had stabilized Ashley as best she could with medi-gel and her limited first aid skills, but the unconscious marine required more help than the commander could provide. Ashley needed Doctor Chakwas' care and there was nothing Shepard could do to get her back to the _Normandy_ any faster. Instead, she was left to brood over the mystery of her doppelganger and her devastating failure on Thessia.

Beside her, Liara brought her hand to rest on Shepard's knee, but the asari's touch didn't bring its usual comfort. "What have I done, Liara?", the Spectre asked distantly. "I let her get away."

"You did what you thought best." Liara couldn't remember the last time she had seen her bondmate so low and her concern was pushing aside her own grief at the invasion of her homeworld.

The Spectre shook her head angrily, pulling her leg away from Liara's hand. "No, I didn't. When I saw Ash go down, I just reacted. I didn't think straight and now the VI is gone along with our best chance to locate the Catalyst."

"We will find another way." Liara had to believe that, but more importantly, she needed Shepard to believe it, to not give in to her fears. Right then though, her lover barely seemed to hear her.

"Javik keeps telling me that my feelings for the people around me make me weak. I didn't want to believe him, but maybe he was right." She buried her face in her hands. "Maybe I can only get through this if I stop caring."

Liara could hardly believe what she was hearing. "That cannot be right," she implored her. "Shepard, I love you, let me help you." The asari reached out again, craving the reassurance of the human's touch, but her bondmate brushed her hand away.

The commander desperately wanted to say yes, to reach out and hold the asari, but in the depths of her despair, she didn't know how. "No," She choked out, "Liara, I love you too, but I can't fail like that again. I just can't let myself be weak. I may have already lost the war trying to save Ashley. If it was you in danger…"

"Shepard," the asari stammered, her already-wounded heart breaking into pieces, "You cannot mean…"

The Spectre turned away, unable to face her bondmate, knowing that if she did, what she saw in those lovely blue eyes would be her undoing. "I don't know what I mean. Just… just leave me alone right now. I need to figure things out."

* * *

Normally, Samantha Traynor didn't go to meet the away team when it returned from missions. Her place was at her comm terminal, doing her duty. Not this time, though. After she'd relayed the message to the med-bay telling Doctor Chakwas that Ashley was in critical condition, she hadn't been able to restrain herself from joining the doctor in the shuttle bay.

The war had nearly driven Samantha to madness. Everything that she'd taken for granted had been stripped away from her, her comfortable life replaced with horror and fear and the end of one world after another at the hands of monsters she could barely comprehend. To stay sane, she'd tried to focus on the small pleasures she could still find: chess, Kepesh-Yakshi, and more than anything else, her unlikely friendship with Ashley Williams. It had started out as a small crush on the striking lieutenant commander, but since then it had become something more.

Maybe. Some days, Sam was convinced that the Spectre was uninterested in anything beyond a little conversation, but others… She could swear there'd been moments when she saw real desire in the way that Ashley's dark eyes looked at her. Usually, Samantha wouldn't be timid about finding out the truth. She'd been a teenager the last time she wasted her days mooning over some girl that might be straight. Now, though, in the midst of all this chaos and death, she didn't feel like she could afford to risk what she had with Ashley and so she said nothing.

Either way, not knowing if Ashley returned her interest wasn't soothing the horrible, gut-wrenching fear Samantha felt as she hovered at the edges of the docking bay, watching anxiously as the shuttle landed. The door lifted open, Doctor Chakwas and an orderly hurried on board, and when they reemerged, Sam gasped at what she saw.

Ashley was unconscious, her breathing shallow and her armor stripped off, leaving the Spectre clad only in a blood-soaked uniform. When Sam tried to get a closer look, Doctor Chakwas waved her off, but she did give the specialist a few words of reassurance. "Don't worry," she told her in that grandmotherly voice that made her so easy to trust, "She's in good hands."

After the medical team left, Shepard and Liara disembarked from the shuttle covered in blood and grime, but at least theirs seemed to belong to other people, or things. The darkness in Shepard's expression warned Sam away from talking to her, so she tried the asari instead. "Liara," she asked, "Ashley… How bad is it?"

"I do not know." Bloody hell but the asari sounded tired. Tired and sad. "But it is serious." The two women staggered towards the elevator together, but they were barely looking at each other. Sam had never seen Shepard and Liara like that and even without being told, she knew that Ashley's injuries weren't the only way that the mission had gone badly.

* * *

Liara sat alone in her quarters, trying to fight back the tears that threatened to blur the screen in front of her. Despite her exhaustion, she couldn't sleep, couldn't do anything other than force herself to keep working. If she did, she knew that the last bits of self-control that she had tried to fence around her grief would collapse, and her along with them.

Her homeworld, the place she had grown up, the cradle of her people's civilization and history had fallen to the Reapers. Her mother had hidden the truth about the asari's history from Liara, letting her put her faith in a lie. The Prothean VI, their best hope to find the Catalyst and put an end to this nightmare, was lost to Cerberus. And Shepard, the one person she had thought she could rely on in her darkest moments, had pushed Liara away.

The only small solace the Shadow Broker could find was that Ashley was going to live. Doctor Chakwas had managed to stabilize the Spectre's condition, but in the face of everything else, even that knowledge provided only a little comfort that night.

Behind her, she heard a knock on her door. "This is not really a good time," she said wearily. She had already sent Tali away when the quarian came to see her an hour earlier. She simply did not have the strength for anyone's well-meaning questions or sympathetic looks.

"It's me, Liara." Shepard never knocked, knowing she always had permission to enter her bondmate's chambers, but right then, it didn't feel right to walk in uninvited. "I've been thinking. I need to talk to you."

"If you are going to tell me that you cannot afford our relationship right now, there is no need. I have already heard all that I care to on that score." The harshness in her own voice surprised Liara, but the day's events had left her nerves too ragged to disguise the hurt she felt.

"No, that's not it," Shepard pleaded. "Just let me in." The desperation in the Spectre's voice softened Liara's anger and she opened the door. The commander had showered and changed into a clean uniform, but otherwise she looked dreadful. The human's eyes were red from crying and her weary face looked far older than her 34 years, the stress that had been building for months on the verge of overwhelming her.

"Shepard," the asari started, worry for the woman she loved making it hard to remember anything else, "Are you all right?"

"I can't do it, Liara," the Spectre said by way of reply, her voice weak, choked with emotion. "I can't do this without you. Maybe I should be able to, but I can't." For hours, she'd been trying to work, to think of some way to go forward after their defeat on Thessia but to no avail. Time and again, her thoughts had kept dragging themselves guiltily back to Liara, to the way she had hurt her, to the grief she must be feeling, and Shepard had realized she only had one choice. "Can you forgive me?"

Liara collapsed into the Spectre's arms, unable to find the words to answer. This last emotional turn was simply too much for the Shadow Broker and all she could do was sob against her bondmate's chest. "I'm so sorry," Shepard told her, her hand caressing the back of Liara's crest. "You made me strong when Cerberus tried to destroy my sanity. I should have remembered that. It was only… I was just…"

"I know," Liara whispered, finding her voice, "What happened today, it affected you."

"I'll make it right," Shepard promised her, "I don't know how, but I'll think of some way to win this war if it's the last thing I do."

"Later," Liara told her, clutching the Spectre tightly while kissing along her pale neck. "Now, I just need you."

Shepard bent down and caught Liara's dark lips with her own, her tongue sliding into the asari's mouth. Her bondmate whimpered and Shepard pulled her closer, Liara's warmth starting to soothe her frayed nerves. She had been fooling herself if she thought she could give the asari up, but that was something she could draw strength from, could use to help her finish this war.

Liara's hands fumbled with the commander's uniform, trying to remove any barrier between them. Shepard responded in kind, pulling off Liara's coat before moving on to the rest of her clothes. It all became a blur, one garment after another joining the growing pile on the floor, until Shepard's naked skin was pressed against Liara's own. The asari ran her hands over her bondmate's strong body, tracing the powerful muscles, now wound tight with tension. "I can't lose you again," she told the human, stroking her fingers over the swell of her lover's breasts. "I already did once and it almost destroyed me."

"You won't," Shepard replied, a guilty look passing over her freckled face.

Against her thigh, the asari could feel that her commander was still semi-soft, her mind distracted by all that had happened. She reached down, and Shepard felt warm fingers wrap around her length. She gasped into her bondmate's shoulder, feeling her cock start to stiffen against Liara's palm. The commander massaged the tips of her beloved's crest, and when Liara's knees started to buckle at even that simple pleasure, Shepard realized just how deep her lover's need went that night.

She was hard by then, Liara's thumb brushing over the head of her cock while her fingers kept massaging the stiff shaft. Shepard kissed her bondmate firmly, murmuring with pleasure at Liara's touch before wrapping the asari up in her arms and bringing her towards the bed in the back of the suite. She lay the Shadow Broker down on the bed, and though it was narrower than her own, that suited Shepard just fine at the moment. She climbed on top of Liara, wanting as much contact as she could manage, and the asari obliged, her hands wrapping around her lover and pulling her close.

The weight of Shepard's body on top of her comforted Liara even as her touch was driving the asari wild. The Spectre's mouth was nibbling along her neck, her fingers massaging her breasts, her cock rubbing over Liara's slick azure. Her fingers dug into Shepard's back, hard enough to leave marks. She couldn't believe how strong her body's response was, as if it was trying to replace everything else she'd been feeling with pleasure. The head of Shepard's cock was rubbing over her clit and every time it did, fresh wetness would coat the underside of the shaft.

"Shepard," she gasped, "Please." She wasn't even sure exactly what she was asking for, but the Spectre seemed to figure it out, shifting the angle of her hips so that the tip of her cock could more fully stimulate her swollen bud. Liara let out a little whimper of delight at the sensation and as she threw back her head, the Spectre bent down, her mouth closing suddenly over a hard blue nipple and suckling firmly on it. The unexpected addition of sensation was too much. The orgasm rushed out of Liara like a thunderbolt and as it did, her mind reached out instinctively for Shepard, needing to share her pleasure with the woman who had given it to her.

Liara's thoughts hit her out of nowhere but Shepard didn't even consider refusing her entry. She needed every part of the asari, and as their minds melted together, the throbbing pleasure in Liara's body jumped over to her. Combined with the mental stimulation, even the touch of her cock on the outside of Liara's sex was enough to push her over the brink into orgasm along with her bondmate.

The Shadow Broker felt Shepard explode against her, the Spectre's cock spurting shot after shot of clear fluid along her stomach, leaving warm, sticky trails all the way up to the swell of her breasts. Her own empty azure fluttered in sympathy, the shared pleasure intense but not enough to satisfy her desire to feel her lover inside her, filling her.

"Shepard," she panted as the meld started to weaken, "I… I should have asked before I tried to…"

"Don't apologize," the Spectre reassured her, "I love affecting you that way. You're always welcome in my head."

"Take me," Liara pleaded, knowing that her lover's stamina wasn't exhausted yet, "Now."

Shepard was only too happy to oblige her, pulling back her hips and lining her cock up with her bondmate's azure. Liara so was so wet that the Spectre slid into her lover with a single long stroke, the asari's inner walls almost pulling her in. The skin beneath Shepard was slick with her own release, but she didn't care about that. Liara was already deepening the meld once again and those shared sensations were all she could think about. The raw need in her bondmate's mind drove her wild and she tried to give the asari everything she needed. Shepard craved it too; the wet heat of Liara wrapped around her, the vicarious sense of fullness in her lover's azure, the reminder of a real, living connection amidst all the death and horror giving her something to hold on to.

"I love you," she reminded her lover across the bond, "Always."

"Until the end of world," the asari whispered back. "Longer." Her hands clutched at Shepard's firm ass, pulling her in as deeply as she could go, even while her mouth nibbled at the commander's ear.

The first climax hadn't satisfied Shepard's desires as much as it unleashed them and as she drove hard and fast into Liara, she could tell she would finish again soon. As best she could, she fought to hold back her orgasm, but when she heard, "Please, just come with me," whispered in her thoughts, she gave up the struggle. A few more strong thrusts were all it took before she peaked, filling her beloved asari's azure's, Liara's inner walls rippling around her as she shared in their bliss, trying to take all that Shepard had to give her.

Even after the final few drops of Shepard's release had spilled into her and the last of hers had begun to dry on the Spectre's groin, Liara couldn't bring herself to break the connection between them. For a long time, she just lay beneath her beloved, their hands caressing their still-sensitive bodies, Shepard's presence in her mind comforting her. When it finally did drift away though, her head felt clear. Her grief and troubles weren't gone, but they didn't feel so overwhelming anymore either and she sighed with relief.

"Are you all right?", Shepard asked, her green eyes lighter now too, the mind behind them working once more.

"Yes," Liara purred gratefully, "Thanks to you."

"Well, that's good," the Spectre smiled, "Because I've got an idea for how we're going to save the galaxy."

"Is that so?" Liara couldn't resist grinning back at her bondmate. "That was fast work."

"Well, I don't know how to find the Catalyst just yet, but I think I know who may be able to tell us about the bitch who stole Prothean VI." Liara looked quizzically at Shepard and she explained, "We're going to go pay an old friend a visit."


	3. Chapter 3

When she woke up, Ashley's chest hurt like a bitch, which at least meant she wasn't dead. You probably didn't take your stab wounds with you to heaven, and she didn't think hell would look quite so much like the _Normandy_'s med-bay. It was an impression that was further reinforced when she saw Samantha Traynor sitting next to her bed, the specialist's chocolate eyes lighting up at the sight of Ashley moving.

"Ash!" Without thinking, Sam reached over and put her hand on the Spectre's knee. "Oh thank god you're awake! It's been a day and a half and I was starting to get worried."

"Hey." Ashley blinked, her eyes still acclimating to the light, her voice raw. "You been here this whole time?"

"Not all of it. I mean, I still had to work. And sleep. And eat." Ashley laughed, winching at the sudden pain in her chest it caused, and Samantha continued, "But I was here a lot. You had me worried. You had all of us worried."

"Did we…" Ashley coughed, reaching over for a glass of water by the side of the bed. It was all coming back to her now: the battle in the temple on Thessia, seeing her commander's face behind the Cerberus leader's visor, the omni-blade sinking into her flesh… The last thing she remembered was the searing pain in her gut as Shepard broke cover and ran towards her. "Did we get the VI?"

Sam looked down uncomfortably. "No," she replied, her voice a regretful whisper, "That clone or whatever it was stole it."

The Spectre slumped down into the bed. "It was my fault."

Sam's heart ached along with Ashley, but accompanying her empathy was another, harder to define feeling. The Spectre was normally so tough, and while that was definitely a turn-out, it was also a little intimidating. Seeing Ashley like this, vulnerable physically and emotionally, made her seem more accessible. "Ash," she protested, squeezing down on the Spectre's pale hand, "You were stabbed. In the chest. It's not like you handed the VI over to Cerberus without a fight."

"You don't understand," she replied wearily. "I had a shot at her, the clone, but when I saw Shepard's face under that helmet, I couldn't take it. I was just… I was so confused that I froze, and then Shepard got distracted helping me. I messed up and now we're totally screwed."

"Hey," Sam offered, "Shepard doesn't give up that easily. She's got a plan to try and find the clone and maybe get the VI back. We're not out of this game yet."

Ashley brightened a little at Sam's words, smiling back at her friend. She was grateful for the cute specialist's reassurances, more than she quite knew how to express just then. "Thanks a lot, Sam. I'm really lucky to have you here for me. I mean it."

Sam didn't quite intend what happened next. Well, she kind of did; it's not like she was indoctrinated or something, but she certainly didn't plan it. There was just such warmth in the way Ashley was talking to her, and unconsciously, she started running the pad of her thumb up and down the Spectre's hand, caressing it intimately. For an instant, she was lost in the feeling of the smooth skin and strong muscles and then Ashley looked up at her and Sam panicked, unable to meet her gaze. "I'm sorry, Ash," she mumbled, pulling away abruptly. "I didn't mean… I mean, I have to go. My shift starts in a few minutes."

"Wait," Ashley started to protest as Sam got up from her chair by the bed, "You don't have to leave." The specialist barely seemed to hear her though, back-peddling towards the door, and the Spectre was too weak to make any further effort to stop her, sliding back instead into the relative comfort of the med-bay bed, trying futilely to make sense of everything that was going on.

* * *

Miranda Lawson didn't pace. She didn't tap her fingers on the table. She tried her best to keep her face even. And yet, as she starred at the sterile metal walls of the room she was in, it was hard for her not to feel some apprehension. It wasn't that she was unaccustomed to interrogations. Ever since being placed in Alliance custody, being debriefed was mostly what she did. Something was different about today though, a buzz on the station that told her she wasn't going to be meeting with her normal interlocutors. Still, she had to admit she was a little surprised when she saw who walked into the room.

Commander Shepard looked older than she had on Mars, her beautiful freckled face lined with cares, but her gaze was still as fierce as Miranda remembered. The Spectre took a seat across the metal table from her, regarding the operative with barely restrained hostility.

"Shepard. To what do I owe the pleasure?" She hadn't heard from the commander since her incarceration began and Miranda knew that hadn't changed because Shepard felt like a social call.

The Spectre narrowed her eyes, trying to focus on the reason she was there. The stakes were too high for her dislike of Miranda to get the better of her but she still had no patience for exchanging pleasantries with the woman. "A few days ago, Cerberus interfered with a mission of mine on Thessia. They stole data vital to the war effort."

"I'm sorry to hear that." She almost sounded sincere, Shepard thought. "Why come to me though?"

"There was something unusual about the woman who led the Cerberus team." Shepard paused. "She looked exactly like me. As the former head of the Lazarus Project, I thought you might have some idea of why that might be."

Miranda was hard to read, but Shepard suspected the surprise she saw on her face was genuine. "That doesn't make sense."

"Does that mean you don't know anything about who she might be?" The commander tried to keep the anxious edge out of her voice. Miranda had been her best hope for some answers and if she was a bust, the commander was back to square one.

"No, it means that project was supposed to have been shut down."

Shepard bent her head in confusion. "What project?"

"Project Mirage. The Illusive Man wasn't certain that the Lazarus Project was going to work. He knew there was something special about you, something relevant to the fight against the Reapers, but without understanding what it was, he pursued a number of possible avenues for exploiting it."

"Like your 'modifications,?'", she growled. Liara may have taught her how to take pleasure in her new cock but the violation of her bodily autonomy by Miranda still infuriated the Spectre.

"That's right. We thought that if your gift was genetic, you might be able to pass it along to your offspring. Anyway, for obvious reasons, it would have been better if you came back yourself, but if that failed, another alternative we considered was cloning and training a new Shepard. Whatever the Reapers feared about you, it might transfer to her. On the other hand, it might not, which is why when you were brought back to life, the project was supposed to have been shut down as redundant. It's why I never mentioned it to the Alliance."

Shepard slammed her palm down on the table, making Miranda jump slightly. "Well, you were wrong. And now that thing is out there wrecking havoc and I have to find her as soon as possible."

Miranda took a deep breath. "I may be able to help with that. But I need something from you in return."

"You want something?", Shepard snarled. "You agreed to tell the Alliance everything you knew in exchange for your sister's life. I sent you the proof that she's safe. You don't have the right to make any more demands."

"I know." Unexpectedly, Miranda's shoulders fell and Shepard could see a pain behind her cool veneer. "But I'm going to ask anyway. I want in on this. I'll help you find your clone, but in exchange, I want to help you bring down Cerberus."

Shepard's green eyes widened incredulously. "Are you serious? You worked for them, killed for them. Why should I believe you won't just shoot me in the back to earn their forgiveness?"

Miranda sighed and her fatigue seemed to deepen. "Because I made a mistake." For months, her captors had been showing her reports about the evils that Cerberus had been committing. At first, she had wanted to think it was merely Alliance propaganda, but over time, the evidence had become undeniable. The organization that she had devoted much of her adult life to was out of control. "Cerberus has to be stopped. They're undermining the war effort against the Reapers and killing innocent people for no good reason. What kind of a woman do you think I am that I could support that?"

"What kind of a woman are you? I don't know, maybe the kind who operates on people without their permission, tries to drive them crazy, and then, when that doesn't work, kidnaps their girlfriends so that they can control them."

The operative laughed bitterly. "You know, Shepard, for a long time, I didn't understand you. I saw the womanizing in your file and I thought that if I just shook some attractive ass in front of you, you'd do whatever I wanted. But I was wrong. You're a hero. You want to do the right thing and do it for the right reasons. It's an admirable trait I suppose, but I think it explains why you don't understand me either. You believe that only monsters and lunatics do bad things, but sometimes, you have to make the tough call, not with a gun to your head and the Reapers five minutes away, but far in advance, to make sure that it never comes to that. Some of what I did may have been cruel, but I was doing it for the greater good."

Shepard's reply was harsh. "How'd that work out?"

"Not well," Miranda admitted. "I've made terrible mistakes. But I always did care about helping humanity and that's not what Cerberus is doing any more. So I'm asking for a chance to make amends for what I did, to achieve some good instead of rotting away on this ship while the fate of my species hangs in the balance."

Shepard took a deep breath. The thought of having Miranda back on board the _Normandy_ didn't exactly make her happy, but it was hardly the first unpleasant thing she'd had to do to win this war, and she knew it wouldn't be the last either.

* * *

Ashley had been out of the med-bay for two days now, two days that Sam had spent trying to avoid the Spectre. What could she have been thinking, putting the moves on a woman who'd just been stabbed in the chest? "Bad little lesbian," she kept telling herself, while not finding the nerve to tell Ashley anything at all.

Now, though, she had just lost her little game of hide-and-seek. Shepard had given the crew some shore leave on Triton Station while she was meeting with Miranda and Ashley had used hers to track the specialist down to the Alliance bar she'd been hiding out in.

The specialist started to get up from the table where she'd been nursing a beer alone but Ashley stopped her. "Wait, Sam. We need to talk."

Sam swallowed hard and sat back down. "Um, okay. What about, Ma'am?"

"Ma'am?" Ashley looked a little wounded at being addressed in such a formal way. "I thought I told you to call me Ash some time after Tuchanka."

"Yeah, you did. Sorry, Ash. Just nervous I guess."

"No worries. Anyway, I thought we should deal with what happened the other day."

Sam hoped she wasn't sweating too hard. "I figured that. Look, I'm really sorry. I don't know what I was doing."

Ashley shrugged. "Well, that makes two of us." Sam looked frightened and Ashley laughed. "No, I don't mean I don't know what you're doing. You're interested in me. I figured that out a while ago. I mean I don't know what I'm doing."

The specialist tried not to sound too relieved that she hadn't revealed her secret in the most embarrassing way she could think of short of getting caught touching herself moaning Ashley's name. "Oh. Well, now I don't know what you mean."

The Spectre laughed and Sam relaxed a little bit more. "I mean, I've never been into women. I don't have anything against people who are, but it just wasn't my thing. Or so I thought." She waited for a second before she continued, considering her words carefully. "I like you, Sam, and for a long time, I wasn't really sure what to do with that. I mean, you're a girl, I'm your superior officer, but you know what? I almost died and the world may be about to end, so carpe diem. What do you say we have another drink and figure things out from there."

Sam's emotions had soared and crashed so many times over the previous few seconds that she wasn't quite sure how to reply. Still, somewhere in whatever babble came out of her mouth, she was pretty sure she managed to get in a "yes."

* * *

**So, I'm curious what people think about Miranda coming back on board and I hope you're enjoy Sam and Ash's awkward little dance. Thanks to everyone reading, faving, and reviewing, and there's plenty more violence, smut, and awkwardness to come.**


	4. Chapter 4

When Liara got the call from Triton Station, her initial reaction was disbelief. "You are bringing Miranda back to the _Normandy_?", she snapped at Shepard. "After everything she has done to us."

"I know this isn't ideal," the commander replied defensively, "Which is why I'm giving you a head's up. I'm not happy about it either, but we need her."

Liara raised an eyebrow skeptically. "She cannot simply tell you where to find this clone?"

"No, but she can help us locate her. She knows a lot about the people and equipment connected with the project, things that you and Alliance intelligence can track the movements of. If we cross-reference enough of this stuff, it should be possible to figure out where the clone's base is."

Liara shook her head. "And that will be easier to do with her help. Very well. Be careful though, Shepard, I do not trust that woman in the slightest."

"I will. She's going to be confined to quarters when she's not on duty and when she is, someone's always going to be keeping an eye on her." Shepard paused. She had some misgivings about sharing her last thought, but she decided to go ahead and do it anyway. "I do think Miranda may have changed," she added, "At least a little. I'm not saying she's a candidate for sainthood, but she really does seem to want to stop Cerberus."

The asari sighed, resigned but still unhappy. "I suppose we will see."

* * *

As much as she wanted to rely on Shepard's judgment, the wait for her bondmate to return was only making Liara more anxious. The Spectre was always quick to see the best in people, even those with dubious pasts. It had served her well at times; she had taken troubled individuals like Wrex and Jack and turned them into valued allies after all, but in this case, Liara simply couldn't bring herself to trust Miranda's alleged change of heart. She suspected the woman was planning something and, though she tried to keep working, when the scheduled arrival time for Shepard's shuttle approached, she couldn't resist the urge to go and meet it. Nor was she alone; word had spread that the infamous Miranda Lawson was en route and much of the crew had turned out to see her.

"I can't believe she's coming back here," Tali said to Garrus while shooting a furtive look over at Liara, "After what she did to her and Shepard."

"I cannot believe the commander permitted her to live at all," Javik opined.

"Well, Shepard's funny like that," Garrus quipped. "Not as quick to put bullets in heads as some people. Me, I'm with you."

Liara said nothing. The more she thought about seeing the operative again, the angrier she became. The woman had thrown herself and her Cerberus whores at Shepard and when that failed, she had resorted to kidnapping and murder. With all of the good people that had already died in this war, Miranda getting another chance to burn them was intolerable.

She was still stewing ten minutes later when the shuttle landed and as the door opened and she saw her bondmate walking out next to Miranda, something in the asari just reacted. Without even thinking about what she was doing, Liara stepped out of the assembled crowd and grabbed Shepard's head in her hands, pulling the human close for a fierce kiss.

Shepard was caught completely off-guard. She and Liara usually avoided public displays of affection; dating someone serving on your ship was already complicated enough without making a big show of it, and yet, she couldn't deny the force in the asari's kiss. Her lips parted automatically for Liara's eager tongue and as the Shadow Broker pressed close against her and her hands ran through Shepard's hair, she could feel herself begin to stiffen against her lover's body.

Feeling Shepard's arousal press against her, Liara pulled back, but only after planting a final, smoldering kiss on her bondmate's lips. As she stalked away from the shocked Spectre, she shot a vicious glare at Miranda, reminding the operative that despite all of her sick games, she had failed to split the two of them up.

Gasping for breath from the kiss, Shepard couldn't quite find anything to say. Fortunately, no one else did either, both Miranda and the rest of her crew seemingly stunned into silence, at least at first. As she hurried her prisoner to the elevator though, the commander could feel the spell starting to break. Though she couldn't quite make out the details, she could already hear Vega whispering something to Garrus and Tali giggling under her mask. As best she could, she tried to keep the blush off of her freckled face, but Shepard could already tell the next few days were going to be long indeed.

* * *

After spending the next several hours going through stolen personnel records and captured shipping manifests, Shepard's concerns about the length of the days ahead seemed to be justified. The whole time they'd been working, Liara had kept starring daggers at Miranda while Javik, Tali, and Garrus had scarcely been friendlier, the prothean in particular seeming as if he was always about thirty seconds away from smearing her against a bulkhead with his biotics. Miranda meanwhile had retreated into an icy detachment, whatever vulnerability the operative had shown Shepard back on Triton Station disappearing in the face of the crew's hostility.

Nor was the problem at hand designed to cheer her up. The whole notion of a clone running around, raised by Cerberus and doing their bidding, made Shepard's skin crawl. Was the woman indoctrinated? Lied to? Bribed? She wasn't sure whether she should pity her doppelganger or hate her, but either way, the topic exhausted the commander enough that when she saw Liara hurrying after her while she waited for the elevator back to her cabin, she wasn't sure she had the energy for an argument.

"Hey," she said wearily as the asari approached, "I know you don't like having Miranda here, but we have to deal with it, at least for a little while."

"I know." Liara reached out and pulled Shepard to her for a kiss, less angry than the one she had given the commander before. "I am sorry if I embarrassed you earlier," the Shadow Broker offered by way of apology. "I'm not certain what I was doing. It is only… I put my faith in Miranda, Shepard. After you died, she came to me and promised that Cerberus would help you. She betrayed that trust. The things she did and tried to do to both of us…" She could feel her anger returning at the memories. "I cannot forgive them."

"She didn't succeed," Shepard said softly, stroking a hand along the side of Liara's head. "I'm still yours. I always will be."

"Then show me," Liara whispered into her ear. As the scent of the commander filled her, the asari felt a sudden, overpowering urge to reaffirm her bond with her lover in the most visceral way possible. "Fuck me," she purred, her low tone somewhere between a plea and an order.

Liara had long ago lost much of the shyness she'd had when they first met, but there was still something about hearing those words from the asari that lit a fire in Shepard. Behind them, the elevator doors slid open and by she pulled the Shadow Broker through them. Liara's hands were running over her body, un-tucking her uniform, while her mouth nibbled at Shepard's neck, and the commander found herself both surprised and aroused by the asari's almost violent enthusiasm.

The elevator finally arrived at Shepard's cabin and Liara practically threw her lover out of the doors, leading her across the room and pushing her down onto the bed. Even as the Spectre settled in, Liara tossed off her white coat before climbing on top of her bondmate. As Shepard's arms wrapped around her, Liara started planting kisses all over the commander's face while running her hands over her torso, caressing the sleek muscles underneath her uniform. Against her clothed azure, she felt Shepard's cock stirring, and a whimper of arousal escaped her lips at the contact.

"God, Liara," Shepard murmured, her hands sliding along the Shadow Broker's sides, "What's gotten into you?"

"Soon enough, you." Liara pulled her own shirt up over her head to let Shepard's strong hands caress her breasts and she rolled her hips, increasing the pressure against Shepard's growing erection.

The commander laughed a little at the asari's joke, but she couldn't deny how contagious her bondmate's need was. Sitting up, she took a hard, blue nipple into her mouth, tugging gently on it with her teeth. Liara went rigid above her, her fingers pulling urgently at Shepard's dark red hair, and when she released the slick bud, the asari shoved her back down onto the bed. Her hands grabbed the sides of Shepard's shirt, yanking it open and spilling two buttons onto the floor. The commander opened her mouth to say something, she wasn't sure what, but before she could, a biotic glow appeared around her lover.

With a few swift applications of her powers, Liara ripped off the remainder of her lover's clothes, shoes and socks, pants, bra, and boxers cast aside with little regard for their condition. Shepard's gorgeous curves were laid bare beneath her, and she cupped one of her full, firm breasts in her hands, stroking the nipple with her thumb while her other hand found the swell of Shepard's ass.

"You're mine," she growled hungrily, her mouth nipping at Shepard's other breast. "No one else can touch you like this. No one." She slid her hand over the Spectre's erection, sliding her palm up and down the rigid shaft.

"Just yours," Shepard promised, her length throbbing eagerly in her bondmate's grip, and as if to reward her for her pledge, the asari bent down, taking a neglected nipple between her dark lips.

The asari enthusiastically suckled on her commander's breast for a moment, but though Shepard had slid a thigh between her own for Liara to grind against, her need was too great to wait long for more. She unbuttoned her own pants and Shepard took the hint, her strong hands sliding them off along with Liara's already-damp panties. Once she was fully naked, the asari slid further down Shepard's body, stopping when her face was hovering just above her bondmate's cock. She could feel the heat radiating off of it, and she bent over, placing single, wet kiss on the head.

"This is mine," she insisted as she licked a drop of clear fluid off of it's tip. "Not Miranda's. Not Yeoman Chambers'. Mine." In a single, practiced motion, she took Shepard as deep inside her mouth as she could. Shepard's hips pumped unconsciously and Liara felt more of her lover's pre-come spill out of her, a salty taste she greedily swallowed down before withdrawing her mouth.

Shepard groaned when the asari pulled off of her cock, but her disappointment was short-lived. Liara climbed back on top of her, her wet azure sliding over Shepard's erection. Looking down at the aroused Spectre, she added huskily, "And I'm yours. Forever."

Shepard ran her thumb along the asari's clit to help make sure she was ready, but there was no need. The Shadow Broker immediately started lowering herself onto the Spectre, and in spite of her bondmate's tightness, Shepard had no trouble pushing past her wet entrance.

Liara moaned with pleasure as Shepard filled her. There was something desperate in her need that night, something that went past simple desire. As soon as Shepard was buried snugly inside her, she started moving once more, pressing her hips down to get her lover as deep inside her as possible.

Beneath her, Shepard groaned at the friction of Liara's azure moving up and down along the shaft of her cock. The asari pleaded, "More," and Shepard did her best to comply, grabbing Liara hips so she could fuck her harder. Liara was no shrinking violet when it came to sex, but the energy in her motions still surprised the commander, her eyes filled with a fierce possessiveness Shepard was unused to seeing there. As she continued thrusting, Liara bent down, her kisses along the Spectre's collarbone turning into a hard bite when Shepard stroked the asari's clit with her fingers. The commander suspected it would leave a mark, but right then she didn't care, the slight pain overwhelmed by the pleasure she was feeling.

With each desperate thrust, Liara could feel Shepard's movements becoming more strained, gasps escaping her throat every time the asari pushed down against her bondmate's cock. The Shadow Broker knew Shepard was close to release and just the thought of it made her clit twitch against the human's touch. More than even her own orgasm, she craved Shepard's pleasure, wanting to share the feeling of her lover coming undone for her, and her mind reached out instinctively, grabbing onto the human's thoughts. Shepard opened up to her, and what she felt as they joined sent Liara over the edge almost instantly.

Her mind was flooded with Shepard's deep and abiding love, not just for the ecstasy Liara brought: the clinging warmth of her azure, the practiced touch of her hands, the wet pleasure of her tongue, but for Liara herself. Feeling it, the asari let go of the strain she had been feeling, her jealousy dissolving in the reassuring love of her commander. She screamed loud enough to wake the protheans from their graves, her release ripping through her body like fire, her azure clamping down around her lover as she came.

Shepard followed after her almost instantly, the tightening around her shaft combined with the heat in Liara's mind more than enough to push her into climax. She gripped her bondmate more tightly as she came, spurting over and over again into Liara's warm azure, filling it until she felt like she had nothing more to give and she slumped wearily back onto the mattress.

Her body and mind collapsed into a blissful haze, but she was kept in the moment by the feel of delicate fingers stroking her cheek. Liara was looking down at her, her blue eyes wide, and Shepard placed an affectionate hand on her bondmate's stomach. "Are you okay?", she asked tenderly. "I can't remember seeing you quite that way before."

Liara breathed hard, trying to bring her thoughts back under control. "I am. I… thank you for that, Shepard. I cannot fully explain why, but it was what I needed tonight."

The commander grinned. "No need to thank me. It was fantastic. But if this was about Miranda, you have to know you don't have anything to worry about. She may be pretty, but these days I like my women blue and, you know, named Liara."

The asari smiled, her doubts more than assuaged by their meld, replaced by a twinge of guilt over her earlier behavior. "I do. I realize we have to work with her and I will try to be more civil in the future."

As Shepard returned her smile, Liara promised herself that she would figure out what had made her react that way in the first place. Shepard may have slept around before they met, but the commander had never been anything other than faithful to Liara. She should trust her. She did trust her. And that was why this didn't make sense.

* * *

**So, what is up with Liara? Can Miranda be trusted? What is special about Shepard anyway? I'd love to see your thoughts in the reviews, and thanks for reading.**


	5. Chapter 5

Shepard took a deep breath, trying to set aside all of the problems of the last few days. The tensions in her crew had ebbed somewhat since Miranda first arrived on the _Normandy_, but between the operative's presence and the fear that their last, best chance to win the war might be slipping away, they were on edge.

Liara was no exception and feeling her bondmate's nervousness, Shepard squeezed the asari's hand a little tighter. Their love-making seemed to have partially calmed whatever it was that had consumed her that night, but the Shadow Broker was still acting oddly. She had been working in the Spectre's cabin instead of her own office whenever she could, and she continued to be more openly affectionate in front of the crew. Shepard didn't exactly mind the extra time with her beloved, but she wished she understood what had come over the asari.

"You ready, Liara?"

"Indeed." The Shadow Broker was putting on her own battle face, her doubts replaced with the same hard eyes that had stared down rogue Spectres and Cerberus agents. "We have been given a second chance. I very much doubt we will get a third one. I will not let you down."

"Nobody will." From across the shuttle, Garrus shot a glare at the woman sitting on the other side of Shepard before adding coldly, "Not even you."

Miranda snorted. "Don't worry. I have more motivation to get this right than anyone. What do you think the Illusive Man will do if he gets his hands on me?"

Shepard hadn't exactly been thrilled to bring the operative along, but her knowledge of Cerberus data protocols might prove to be vital on this mission. They've tracked the clone to Hendril in the Athena Nebula. Alliance intelligence reported the existence of a Cerberus base there a month ago, but because of it's remote location and the fact that they thought it was just a research facility, it had been a low priority target.

Obviously, that had changed. The mission parameters called for Shepard to lead her team in through the front door while Tali, Javik, and James Vega deployed near the landing strip. Though the _Normandy_ could shoot down a ship trying to get off base, they needed to recover any data that Cerberus might be trying to escape with, which meant a secondary team had to be in position in order to cut off the escape route. Normally, Shepard liked to keep her squad small, but sometimes, like at the Collector Base, it was all hands on deck. Well, in this case all but one hand…

* * *

The previous night:

Ashley sat down on the small bed in her quarters, pulling off her boots and socks with a weary sigh. Tomorrow morning the rest of her squad would be heading off on the _Normandy_'s most important mission since Rannoch, maybe even since Ilos. Not Ashley though. She still hadn't been deemed fit for active duty, meaning she'll be sitting here filing reports like a damn desk jockey.

She was just getting ready to lie down for some sack time when the knock came on her door and a quick, "Who's there?", produced the smiling figure of Samantha Traynor standing in the entrance.

"Hey, Ash," the specialist asked nervously, "I saw you heading off duty a few minutes ago. Can I come in?"

"Why not?" The marine managed a smile in return. "If I'm going to sit here feeling sorry for myself, I might as well not do it alone."

Samantha sat down next to the Spectre on the bed. "Why so glum?"

"I should be going with them tomorrow," Ashley said despondently. "I was the one who screwed up on Thessia. I need to help fix it now."

"Doctor Chakwas wouldn't clear you, huh?"

Ashley shook her head. "Not a chance. She said my wound could reopen if any real pressure got put on it. It'll be another four, five days minimum before I can get back in action."

"Aw, poor Ashley." Sam laughed, running her hand warmly over the Spectre's shoulder. "Denied the chance to mix it up again with a psychotic clone of the galaxy's deadliest soldier."

"You don't understand," Ashley snapped, pulling away. "You're not a marine. There's a code. You don't leave your squad to go without out."

"You're right," Sam replied and Ashley could hear a real fear in her voice, "I don't get it. I'm not like you, Ash. I'm just a lab geek in over her head, and is it so wrong that I don't want my girlfriend going back into battle when she's still torn up from the last one?"

A little smile crept up the corners of Ashley's lips. "Girlfriend, huh? You've never called me that before."

Samantha blushed, a quite pretty sight in Ashley's humble opinion. "I guess I was hoping you'd agree with me on that one. It feels like things have been going so well lately. Was I wrong?"

"Nah, they have." Ashley shook her head. "Listen, I didn't mean to be a bitch before. I'm glad you're here."

"Good." Sam moved closer to Ashley, her hip resting against the Spectre, "Because I was hoping I could take your mind off all of this for a little while." She ran her tongue nervously over her lips. "I know we've been taking it slow, but…"

Ashley reached across and put a hand on her new girlfriend's knee. She'd been the one who wanted them to take their time, still getting used to this new relationship, but she really needed a break from all the shit going on. "It's okay, Sam," she offered, "Show me what you've got."

"You won't be disappointed," Samantha promised, trying to stop herself from drooling. She'd been crushing hard for months and the opportunity to be the sexy Spectre's first girl damn near had her creaming her panties. Reaching over, she took Ashley's head in her hands and guided their lips together.

Lt. Commander Williams had to admit the girl knew how to kiss. They'd shared a few already, but those had been relative chaste, exploratory kisses. This was something else. Sam slid past her lips, caressing Ashley's tongue with her own while her hands ran through the Spectre's long, dark hair. Ashley moaned into Specialist Traynor's mouth and already, she could feel her body flushing with arousal. They'd all been under such intense stress these last few months, with little time to find relief, and she suspected that Sam might be just what she needed.

Breaking the kiss, Sam brushed back Ashley's hair, allowing her to nibble lightly on one of her ears. She didn't want to go too fast and spook the inexperienced Spectre, and besides, this was a matter of pride. Sam was representing her gender here and she was bloody well going to do a good job of it.

Samantha kept up her kisses, her lips playing along the Spectre's neck and face while her hands ran along her shoulders and tangled in her hair. The specialist had an uncanny insight into how to drive Ashley crazy and after a few minutes of her teasing treatment, she'd been pushed past her patience.

With a growl, Ashley reached over and started unbuttoning Sam's uniform. She might not have done this before with a woman, but she still knew how to go for what she wanted. Throwing open her girlfriend's shirt, she got her first good look at the specialist's breasts. They were perfect, she thought. A little bigger than her own, plump and round, but not so big that they sagged; they were only barely contained by a lacy, black bra.

"Feeling optimistic, were you?", Ashley joked at the sight of the lingerie.

"Just confidant," the specialist replied playfully, unhooking the bra herself before taking Ashley's hand and placing it on her breast. The orb was soft but firm in the Spectre's hand, an interesting contrast with the muscled chests of the guys she'd been with in the past. It was far more sensitive too, and when she gave it an experimental squeeze, the specialist gasped.

"Go on," Sam urged, "Play with them."

Ashley complied, sliding her thumb over a nipple she could already feel hardening against her palm. She stroked the dark bud and Sam sighed happily. "Very good, Ash. You want a taste?"

She really did. Samantha lifted up her other breast and Ashley bent down, planting a tentative kiss on the soft flesh. The specialist's chest arched into the contact and thus encouraged, Ashley moved up to the stiff nipple, licking away at the tip.

Ashley's technique was inexperienced, but the sheer erotic power of watching the gorgeous Spectre pleasuring her was enough to drive Sam crazy with lust. Her hand pressed against Ashley's head, and the Spectre took the hint, pulling the nipple between her lips and sucking on it.

For a minute, Sam leaned back and just enjoyed Ashley's mouth on her, but she was too eager for more of the Spectre to wait for long. Gently guiding Ashley's head back, she went to undo the marine's shirt, pleased with herself for not fumbling the job too badly in her arousal. Ashley's bra was a lot plainer, a simple grey affair, but once she got it off, Sam was more than happy with the view.

The Spectre's body was fantastic, perfectly toned abs sitting below the firm curves of her breasts, not an ounce of excess fat anywhere on her torso There was however a bandage over the spot where the clone had stabbed her and Sam hesitated when she saw it.

"Are you okay to go on?", she asked, stroking the skin above the wound lightly.

"Yeah," Ashley assured her. "Just be careful. Doc says not to put too much pressure on it."

Sam nodded and she gently pushed Ashley back onto the bed, lying down next to the Spectre.

As Sam's warm hands and tongue started to move over her torso and breasts, Ashley realized what a novice she must have seemed like to the more experienced woman. The specialist was so very good at this, her teeth applying just the right amount of pressure to her nipples, her soft hands stroking, fondling, and caressing everywhere while still careful to avoid her injury.

"You have a lot of practice?", she asked playfully, feeling a little self-conscious of her own deficiencies in that area.

"Not in a while," Sam confessed while her hand started to work it's way up Ashley's pant leg. "But you should have seen me when I was at university. I was a bloody terror."

"I'd rather see you now," Ashley laughed.

"You're on." Sam stood up from the bed and unbuttoned her pants, pushing them down along with her black lace underwear. Underneath, her dark skin was completely bare and Ashley could see her arousal glistening on the lips of her pussy.

"More optimism?", she asked at the sight of the shaved specialist and Sam cheekily responded, "Just being prepared."

Tentatively, the Spectre reached out and started to run her fingers over Sam's labia. She wasn't totally sure what to do here, but she knew how to get herself off well enough and she figured that was a good place to start. Parting the specialist's slick folds, she probed her new lover, trying to find her clit. It was trickier on somebody else though, and, reaching down, Sam took her hand and guided it up to her bud.

Once Sam removed her hand, the Spectre started tracing circles around the hard clit. That pattern always worked for her and Sam seemed to like it well enough as well, making these little whimpering sounds that Ashley found totally adorable not to mention highly arousing. The tips of the marine's fingers were wet and she found herself curious to taste the specialist. Bringing her hand up to her lips, she ran her tongue over her digits. The flavor was thick and tangy and when she tried it, the specialist looked down at Ashley mischievously.

"You want more?", she asked, spreading herself wide to give the Spectre a better view of her sex.

Ashley's response was to sit up and take Sam's exposed clit between her lips. The little bud was throbbing in her mouth, and the Spectre was pleased by the effect she seemed to be having. Remembering something she had enjoyed once, she sucked gently on the clitoris while running her tongue up and down it's length and Sam's hips bucked against her in reply. The marine ran a hand over the slight swell of her lover's stomach, enjoying the way the muscles there tensed up in response to her ministrations.

Sam groaned with pleasure, rocking back and forth against Ashley's mouth. For a novice, the Spectre was pretty damn good, her enthusiasm making up for any lack of practice. Sam was getting close but she usually found it difficult to climax without a little penetration to help her along and stroking her lover's hair, she begged, "Fuck me, Ash. Please."

The marine tilted her head up, the sudden loss of stimulation leaving Sam's clit trembling needily. "Fuck you?", Ashley asked, slightly confused.

"With your fingers." Samantha had frequently fantasized about the marine taking her with a strap-on, but for tonight, her hand would do quite nicely.

"Right. Of course." Ashley took two fingers and brought them up to Sam's entrance. It was covered in her arousal and the Spectre had no difficulty pushing them inside her lover. Sam's whole body jerked when she did, arching with pleasure, and Ashley started fucking her, trying to set up a steady rhythm. When she felt like she had a handle on it, she brought her mouth back to Sam's clit as well, licking her while she fucked her pussy.

Sam's grip tightened around her lover's head, moaning more loudly than might be advisable in such close quarters but not quite caring. She cupped her own breast with her other hand, rolling her nipple between her fingers, desperate for every last little bit of stimulation she could get. Ash's tongue pressed against the head of her clit and Sam looked down into the marine's dark eyes. It was too much. The sight of her superior officer beneath her on the edge of the bed, eating her out, was incredible. Her legs went wobbly as she found her release, her hips bucking uncontrollably as her pussy clenched around Ashley's hand.

When Sam stopped shaking, Ashley withdrew her fingers, now covered in her lover's release. She licked them clean once more, enjoying the heavier dose of the intriguing flavor. Sam tumbled down onto the bed next to her and Ash gave the specialist a passionate kiss. "I do okay?", she asked with a laugh.

"You did great," Sam reassured her. "Now lie back and get ready for your reward."

Ashley stretched out as best she could on the small bed, trying to make sure to leave room for her girlfriend. Sam unfastened the Spectre's pants, and beneath them, there was a large wet spot on her grey underwear. "Having fun?", she asked, stroking her finger over Ash's clothed sex.

"Can't help it," the Spectre gritted out through the surge of pleasure, "You're so hot when you're… fuck, when you're coming."

"I see." Sam slid the underwear off, planting a string of kisses along the marine's inner thigh. "I wonder what you'll sound like?"

Ashley found herself intently curious about the same thing as Sam's fingers tangled through the dark hair above her sex. Her mouth made its way to her entrance, probing inside it with quick, darting strokes. Ashley clutched at the sheets and Sam parted her folds, revealing the swollen head of her clit. She stroked the hard point lovingly, and Ashley released a burst of fluid into her mouth. It was rich and musky, and Sam eagerly lapped it up. She didn't want to be too greedy though, and she switched her mouth up to Ash's clit, licking up and down it's shaft. One hand reached up to Ashley's breast, stroking the nipple while she took the marine's clit between her full lips.

As Sam suckled her clit, Ashley could tell the specialist was good but it almost didn't matter. She'd been so long without this kind of relief that she was already coming undone, dirty talk spilling out of her as she approached climax. "Fuck, Sam," she babbled, "You're so good at this, such a good little pussy eater, so cute when you… goddamn it." The specialist had pinched her nipple and was speeding up her strokes. "Shit, Sam, I'm gonna…" Samantha sucked hard on her clit and the marine peaked, her release spilling out of her, and the specialist dropped her mouth down so she could drink it in. It was quite a flood and when she finished, Sam sat up and licked her lips ostentatiously.

"So, I'm good, am I?", she purred as she lay down next to her lover.

"Fucking amazing. Sorry if I got a little mouthy there. When I'm close, I'm not exactly a poet."

"Don't worry," Sam grinned happily. "I like hearing you like that."

"So, does that mean you'd want another go with a novice like me," she asked. "Or did you just want to take my lesbian cherry and run?"

"Not a chance," Sam replied, placing a kiss on the Spectre's lips. Ash could taste herself there, but that didn't bother her, not as good as she was feeling just then. "In fact, I wouldn't mind staying a while if you'll have me."

"It's a tight fit," Ashley cautioned her, but as Sam snuggled up against her on the small bed, the Spectre suspected her lover didn't mind.

* * *

**Sorry for just giving a little teaser of the mission, but I hope the Sam/Ash sexy times make up for it. Oh and by the way, because of the somewhat different Mars mission, Dr. Eva's body was never co-opted for EDI's use, hence she's not around to help out with Cerberus protocols instead of Miranda.**

**Update: For some reason, created a clone of Chapter 5 and posted it as Chapter 6. I deleted it, but it seems to have sent out update notices. Sorry about that. A real chapter 6 is in the works.**


	6. Chapter 6

"Liara, above you! Sniper!"

In response to her lover's warning, the asari launched herself to the side just in time to avoid the incoming high velocity bullet. The Nemesis tried to get back into her cover on the upper railing, but before she could, Liara reached out, wrapping the sniper in a stasis field.

"Garrus!", the Shadow Broker yelled before scampering behind the reception desk.

"On it," the turian barked back, planting a round from his Widow between the frozen Nemesis' eyes.

"How much longer on those doors?", Shepard snapped as she exchanged fire with the squad of Cerberus troopers on the opposite side of the entrance hall. "Much as we're all having fun here, it feels to me like they're staging a holding action and I'd rather not leave the rest of the team to deal with my clone by themselves."

"Almost there, commander," Miranda replied tersely, fiddling with a control panel on the other side of the room even as shots whizzed above her head. "They've altered their security protocols since I left Cerberus but I'm trying to compensate."

"Glad to hear it." Shepard tossed a incendiary grenade out from behind the column she was using for cover. It burst in the midst of the troopers and as they scattered and burned, she and Garrus picked off the survivors.

"Got it." The double doors at the back of the room slid open and the team moved deeper into the base, the seemingly-normal entrance hall soon giving way to a twisting maze of poorly-lit, dank corridors that sank deep into the ground of Hendril.

"Not much for décor here, are they?", Garrus quipped as he fired down the hallway at a Centurion crouching behind a steam pipe. "At least with the new _Normandy_, they were pretending to be on the side of the angels, but this place practically screams 'evil lair.'"

"I think their repeated attacks on civilian populations may have given away the game already," Liara replied, her singularity incapacitating the retreating Cerberus officer.

"Garrus? Liara?" The voice that came from one of the side rooms was so frightened that Shepard didn't recognize it at first. Curious, she turned into the chamber, but at first she saw nothing of interest. There was just a little desk with a terminal atop it and a padded table off to one side of the room.

"Who's there?"

It was a head of red hair that she saw first, peeking out from behind the desk, and following behind it was the shocked face of Kelly Chambers. "Shepard!", the former yeoman yelled, leaping out and throwing her arms around the startled Spectre. "I'm so glad it's you. I thought I was going to die down here for sure."

The rest of the team followed the commander into the room. Liara looked less than pleased to see Shepard's would-be seducer with her arms around the Spectre, Garrus seemed amused at the whole situation, and Miranda was simply staring, her dark eyes wide with surprise.

"Kelly?", the operative asked. "I thought you were… The Illusive Man showed me a video of you being prepared for the Nemesis program."

Kelly released her grip on the commander and repeated her hug with Miranda, a change that seemed to please Liara. "I was," she said, a chagrinned blush starting to spread across her cheeks, "But, I, um, got kicked out. They said I had the worst combat aptitude scores of any of the candidates they had seen. I guess I'm lucky that I suck so much at fighting. The things they were doing to us were pretty bad."

Miranda laughed with relief. She'd been fond of the cute therapist and finding her here, alive, was an unexpected gift. "Well, I'm just glad you're all right."

"More or less. After I washed out, the Illusive Man sent me here to, uh, keep up the soldier's morale." She swallowed hard and Miranda felt a flash of anger as she looked at the table on the other side of the room. Kelly had never been shy about using her body as part of her job, but there should limits. "Some of them could be a little rough with me," Kelly admitted with a shudder and Miranda patted her hair. "Anyway, it's okay now. You came for me."

Liara's voice was all business. "As touching as this is, we are not actually here on a rescue mission. We need to find Shepard's clone along with the prothean data that she stole from us. Can you help with that?"

Kelly nodded. "I bet the clone is with the bulk of the Cerberus forces. They're massing in the machine shop on the lower level. There's no way to get to the server rooms without passing through it and if the data you need is here, that's probably the best place to look. I was supposed to go meet up with the rest of the soldiers, but like I said, I'm not much of a fighter, so I hid here instead."

Shepard gave Kelly a bemused smile. She may have been a tool of the Illusive Man but she was so guileless that it was hard to hold it against her. "Good call. The way behind us should be clear now. Get back to the surface and wait in the shuttle. We'll meet up there when we're done."

The yeoman hurried off and Liara turned to her bondmate frostily. "Just how many Cerberus agents are you planning on keeping on the _Normandy_?"

The commander shrugged, trying to avoid the sinking feeling that she'd be sleeping alone that night. "Look, I can't leave her here and she's not exactly going to be much use in a fight. When this is over, we'll drop everybody off in Alliance custody."

"Speaking for the Cerberus agents," Miranda said bruskly, "If we're headed into an ambush, I'd appreciate it if you let me have a gun. I know what I've done, but we're all in this together now. Besides, I care about Kelly and you heard what they did to her. Let me help settle this score."

The commander sighed. In for a penny, she supposed, in for a pound. "All right. Grab the Harrier off the Centurion out in the hall and let's get moving."

* * *

A few brief skirmishes later, Shepard and her team were massed outside the door to what a posted sign informed them was the machine shop. "So, trap?", Garrus laughed, looking at the metal doors.

"Of course," Shepard replied. "The only question is, is it also a diversion to help the clone escape?" She opened a comm channel to Javik. "Javik, Shepard here. Any movement on your end?"

"None of significance, commander," the prothean's gravelly voice responded. "There have been a few cowards attempting to flee to their shuttles, but there is no sign of your doppelganger."

"All right. Stay sharp." She closed the connection and turned back to her squad. "This is it, then. We go in." She motioned everyone to stand back from the doors and then looked over to Liara. "Open it."

The Shadow Broker took a deep breath and a blue glow surrounded her as she reached out with her biotics, wrenching the metal off of its hinges and tossing the doors aside. The response was immediate and noisy as a blistering hail of fire from a pair of turrets ripped apart the corridor wall. When the burst ended, Garrus peeked out into the previous line of fire, activating an overload pulse that disrupted the turret's shields and Shepard followed up, rolling in a grenade that blew apart the gun batteries along with the Cerberus engineer tending to them.

The commander started to move back behind the doorway but a burst of rifle fire caught her in her shields and from behind one of the metal presses, she could see the rising form of her clone, bare-headed and holding an assault rifle.

"Commander Shepard." The woman's voice carried nothing but cold mockery. "So good of you to come here. I was sorry I had to leave things unfinished between us last time. Still, I did have the look on your little friend's face as I gutted her to tide me over."

"She'll live." Shepard rolled forward, taking shelter behind a workbench as she started to make her way towards the clone. "You won't."

* * *

Liara followed her bondmate into the mouth of hell. As the team entered the machine shop, Cerberus troops emerged from a half-dozen hiding places, spraying the entrance with gunfire. The asari threw up her strongest barrier and Miranda joined her. The human wasn't as strong as Liara, but she was skilled enough and though the Shadow Broker's head was throbbing with the exertion, their defenses held long enough for her and the rest of the team to make it behind a series of work benches.

The cover provided little respite. From both sides, Cerberus forces were moving to flank them and Shepard had her hands full with her clone. Liara couldn't focus on her lover just then though, not with the Dragoon leaping out at her. She rolled out of the way of the armored warrior, narrowly avoiding his charged whips as they crashed into the stone floor of the workshop.

Rolling back to her feet, Liara hurled a warp at the Dragoon, putting a crack in his armor and staggering him backwards a couple of steps. She pressed her attack with her submachine gun and the enemy fell, but even as he did, the asari cried out as a spike of pain ripped through her shoulder. Two assault troopers were firing on her and she grabbed one of them in a biotic hold and crushed him against a rack of half-finished guns even as a round from Garrus took care of the other one.

Taking a moment to catch her breath, Liara looked around the dimly lit room, trying to assess their situation. Garrus was off to her right, his armor dented, but Miranda was nowhere to be seen. Liara wasn't thinking about that just then though, her eyes instead drawn to Shepard and her clone. She'd never seen two people move that fast. The two redheaded soldiers were exchanging shots as they ducked and weaved amid the machinery at the back of the large room, their movements such a blur that Liara could barely keep track of which Shepard was hers.

Her eyes were snapped off of the mesmerizing display an instant later. Without warning, Garrus fell, the tell-tell red light on his chest plate indicating his attacker. Refocusing, Liara caught the Nemesis who shot him in a stasis field, but before she could finish off the sniper, she glimpsed the distinctive shimmer of a Phantom tumbling towards her. She swiveled rapidly, but she wasn't fast enough. The ninja's blade lashed out and though Liara fell away from it as best she could, it caught her across the leg, penetrating her barriers and slicing through her pants, leaving a trail of blue blood in its wake.

Ignoring the burning in her leg, the asari fell to the ground, rolling to the left just ahead of the sword impacting against the ground. Liara sprayed a burst at the Phantom, and the submachine gun shots drove her backwards but didn't put her down. The Shadow Broker sprang back to her feet, but even as she did, the ninja was firing a burst of energy at Liara. Too slow to dodge it, she was thrown back to the hard floor as what was left of her barriers dissolved in a bright pain. The asari tried to get up once again, but was too late. The Phantom was almost on her again, its sword aimed at her head. She gritted her teeth, trying to reestablish her defenses, but she doubted they would be enough against the lethal strike.

The blow never fell. Just before the sword reached Liara, the Phantom's body jerked repeatedly and staggered, the ninja's slim form punctured in a dozen places. The indoctrinated biotic toppled to the ground and standing behind her, bleeding from multiple wounds but still holding her glowing Harrier, was Miranda.

* * *

**Sorry to leave you mid-battle but I thought it was a good stopping point and it's been long enough since I updated this story that I wanted to get the chapter up. Next time, Shepard vs. Shepard, and more. Let me know what you think about Kelly's reappearance and Miranda's save and thanks as always for reading.**


	7. Chapter 7

**So given that I ended on a bit of a cliff-hanger, I didn't want to make you wait too long before posting another update. Enjoy.**

* * *

Her clone's assault rifle unleashed another hail of fire and the Spectre dove behind a drill press, narrowly avoiding the incendiary rounds flying at her head. "God, you're pathetic," her doppelganger taunted as she paused to reload.

"Why?", Shepard asked, switching over to her Punisher, the submachine gun better suited than her Indra to the narrow confines of the machine shop. "Because I find cover useful?"

"No," the other redhead laughed. "Because Cerberus offered you everything and you were too weak to take it."

"Offered me everything?!" Shepard ducked out from behind the press, firing a few shots at the clone, driving her behind a cart filled with unassembled gun parts. "Do you know what they did to me?"

"Sure I do." The clone stalked behind the broken machines, making her way towards Shepard, and though elsewhere, the battle still raged, the commander kept her attention focused on what she knew was their most dangerous adversary. No more of her friends would fall to this woman. "They gave you the best ship money could build, put a bevy of beautiful women at your disposal, and even threw in some extra equipment to enjoy them with."

"That's not exactly how I'd describe it." Shepard hurled a grenade in the direction of the voice, but her clone was too quick, vaulting away from the blast and into fresh cover. "They'd used me. They experimented on me and tried to control me."

"So? Everybody uses everybody. All that changes are the perks, which in this case… I mean, have you seen Lawson's ass?" She could hear the raw lust in the clone's voice, a reminder of the temptations she'd only barely resisted before Liara had saved her from them. "I can just imagine her screaming my name as I fucked her in it. And that mouthy little bitch, Jack, chocking on my cock…"

There was something about hearing those words spoken not by a stranger but in her own voice, that distracted Shepard and as the commander tried to keep her mind off of the pictures her clone was painting, her enemy struck. Lightning-fast, she sprang out of cover, landing a few meters away from the Spectre and unleashing a hail of bullets into her shields. Shepard winced but she charged forward, spraying down her double with her submachine gun as she did.

The clone tried to retreat, but Shepard closed the gap too quickly, lashing out with her foot and pulling her enemy off of her feet and knocking her rifle from her grasp. Sliding out her omni-blade, the Spectre dove on top of her enemy, only to be stopped by an armored knee slamming into her stomach. She fell off of the clone, and the woman dove after her, grabbing Shepard's arms and pinning her with her full weight across the commander's hips.

The Spectre thrashed, trying to throw the clone off of her while the woman continued her mockery. "But no," she chided, pushing Shepard's shoulders back until her head slammed into the hard floor, "You had to moan and cry about one blue piece of ass until she showed back up again to make your poor, aching cock feel better." She slammed Shepard's head down again and the Spectre's vision began to daze with the pain of the impacts. "Not that Liara isn't cute," the clone taunted, "Hey, if she survives this, I can look after her for you. Show her what it feels like to get fucked by a real soldier."

With a roar, Shepard wrenched her arms free of the clone's grasp and pushed her shoulder into her enemy's chest. The clone rolled backwards and Shepard followed, aiming her omni-blade at the woman's head. The clone's own glowing blade sprang into existence, parrying Shepard's thrust, but even as the two energy weapons ground against each other, the Spectre's armored first crashed into her double's face, sending her sprawling across the floor, blood coming out of her mouth.

Before the clone could get back to her feet, Shepard kicked her in the stomach. Her enemy rolled with the blow, buying a little space from the Spectre, and as Shepard tried to pursue, the clone snapped out her pistol and fired two rounds at the commander's torso. Her shields buckled and she grunted at the impact, but her rage drove her forward in spite of it. She kicked the gun out of the clone's hand and grabbed her enemy by the throat.

"You're wrong," she snarled, smashing her fist into her double's face again. "Not listening to my cock all the time isn't a weakness and trying to fuck everything that moves isn't a strength. And by the way, if you tried that shit on Liara, she'd rip you apart with her mind but since she's busy right now, you'll have to settle for me doing it."

* * *

As Miranda threw a fresh thermal clip into her assault rifle, Liara got back to her feet. "Sorry I ran off like that," the operative offered. "I had to deal with a couple of Centurions."

"There's still a sniper to take care of," Liara reminded her.

Miranda nodded. "I'll get her. You check on Garrus." She looked across the machine shop. "What about Shepard? Is she all right?"

"I cannot tell." On the other side of the room, the Shadow Broker could see two armored red-heads fighting back and forth, but given the poor lighting, even as interested an observer as her couldn't tell them apart. All she could do was hope her lover was winning.

Reaching Garrus' side, Liara was relieved to see that her old friend was still breathing. The sniper round had penetrated his armor, staining it with his dark blue blood, but it didn't seem to have pierced any vital organs and the asari applied medi-gel to the wound. Garrus' eyes blinked open and he groaned. "Is it over? Did we win?"

"We are working on it," she replied with a forced smile. A red light suddenly appeared on the turian's forehead and Liara shoved them both to the ground. The sniper round smashed harmlessly into a wall behind them and an instant later, she saw a biotic flash coming from that direction indicating that Miranda had gotten her target.

Liara applied a small amount of the medi-gel to herself, soothing the smoldering pain left in her skin by the Phantom's blast. "I have to help Shepard," she told the turian as she got up and grabbed her submachine gun from where it had fallen.

Racing across the machine shop, she saw Shepard and her twin locked in a grapple. She leveled her gun but their armor, similar enough to begin with, was caked in blood and dirt, and in the dim light, she couldn't tell which was which. The Shepard on the bottom tossed the women on top of her to the floor before leaping after her. Liara prepared to use her biotics to pull the two humans apart, but before she could, the descending Shepard's eyes went wide with shock. Between them, Liara could see the glowing length of an omni-blade stuck straight into her chest, her heart's blood spilling out onto her double.

Liara gasped, all of the breath seeming to leave her body at the sight of what might be the woman she loved dying in front of her. The other Shepard started to struggle to her feet, but the asari held up her gun, trying to keep her hand and voice from shaking.

"Wait!", she insisted, "Which one are you?"

"It's me," the woman panted, "It's Shepard."

Her hand brushed aside the filth covering her shoulder guard and Liara exhaled. Beneath the grime, it's red standing out against the dark grey armor, was the N-7 insignia.

As Liara helped her to her feet, Shepard saw Miranda and Garrus staggering towards her. "Everyone all right?"

"I'll live," Miranda told her, wiping the blood away from a cut on her forehead.

"'I'm good too," Garrus said, though as the commander looked at the gaping hole in his chest plate, she thought he might be overselling it a bit.

"I will be all right as well," Liara said before adding, "Thanks in large part to Miranda." She still wasn't sure she entirely trusted the operative, but she deserved credit for her rescue.

The Spectre nodded at Miranda. "Thank you for that."

"What about you love?", the asari asked, gently brushing her fingers over the rising lump on the back of Shepard's head. There was dried blood in the Spectre's hair and she winced slightly at Liara's touch.

"It's a little sore but it's not too bad. I can't exactly say I enjoyed stabbing myself in the heart though."

"It was… disturbing to watch as well," Liara agreed, a chill running through her as she thought of the moment when she hadn't been sure which Shepard had lived and which had died. "But we are all alive and that's what counts."

Shepard paused for a moment, reassessing their situation. "Okay. At this point, I think we can call in the Beta team to mop up whatever Cerberus survivors are left. We've got the route to the sever room secured, and with the clone dead, I don't think anybody who matters is going to escape."

"I wouldn't complain about some back-up," Miranda confessed. "I'm not sure how many more fights I have left in me today."

* * *

Shepard made the call to Javik and she and her three teammates headed towards the server room. As Liara starting hacking the door with her omni-tool, Garrus turned to the commander. "So Shepard," the turian asked, "I know I was a little out of it after Liara shot me full of medi-gel, but I swear I heard you saying some pretty weird stuff to your clone."

The commander's brows furrowed warily. She didn't like where this was heading. "What kind of weird stuff?"

Garrus shrugged. "I know this doesn't make sense, but I swear you said something about your cock."

Shepard didn't reply, but if her visible swallowing wasn't giving her away, the small smile and dark blush spreading across Liara's cheeks definitely did the trick. Garrus looked back and forth between the two of them in disbelief. "But… How… What exactly do I not know here?"

"It's her fault," Shepard blurted out, pointing at Miranda even as the door to the server room opened.

Inside, a Cerberus technician looked up from a terminal nestled amid the banks of computers, a crazed look on his pale face. "You're too late," he snarled, "You'll never…"

"This is not a good time," Liara snapped and with a gesture, she caught the man in her biotic grasp, sending him crashing unconscious into a wall. The Shadow Broker turned back to Garrus. "When Cerberus brought Shepard back to life, they modified her body without her consent."

The turian looked more puzzled than ever. "But why?", he asked Miranda. "Was there a purpose to that? Or is it just something you do to be more evil, like slaughtering refugees?"

"We had our reasons," the operative responded defensively, uncertain as to how much she should explain. Liara glared at her, and Miranda added, "Though it retrospect it might have been a mistake."

"Can we not talk about this?", Shepard growled, inserting an OSD into the Cerberus systems to download any files on the Crucible she might find there.

"I just can't believe you didn't tell me about this," Garrus laughed, deciding to make the best of a weird situation. "I thought we were friends."

"It's not the easiest thing to bring up, okay," Shepard told him as she searched the system for any data on the Crucible. "Somehow, 'How about that new canon upgrade and by the way Cerberus gave me a dick' doesn't feel quite right. It happened. I dealt with it."

"Well, it can't be all bad," the turian chuckled, shooting a look over at Liara even as the Spectre blushed, thinking about all the ways her lover had taught her that same lesson.

"I said I'm not talking about it any more," the Spectre insisted, staring intently at the file headers scrolling across the screen. Whatever data they were getting here had better be worth it.


	8. Chapter 8

Shepard unfastened her greaves and as the last piece of the Spectre's armor clattered onto floor of her cabin, she flopped backwards onto her bed with a weary sigh.

Above her, Liara hovered, looking down at her commander. "Are you feeling all right, love?", she asked, a concerned smile on her pretty face as she sat down next to the prone Spectre. "You've been quiet all the way back from Hendril. Is this about Garrus learning your secret?" She ran her fingers playfully along the length of Shepard's cock, trying to take her lover's mind off of her troubles, but though she could feel her stiffen beneath her dark pants, the commander's expression remained somber.

Shepard scrunched up her face. "No, its not that. Sure, it's a little embarrassing, but hardly the end of the world. Besides, Garrus can keep a secret. It's not like Tali found out, after all."

That drew a small laugh from the asari. Liara cared about Tali like a sister but the quarian was an incorrigible gossip. "What is it then?"

Shepard pulled back slightly. As much as she loved Liara, the Shadow Broker's touch could make it hard for her to think straight. "It was the clone. When we fought, the things she said… They're still bothering me."

Liara raised a curious eyebrow. "What sorts of things?"

"She was going on about Jack and Miranda, about the all the ways she wanted to fuck them. She said I was weak for not having done that myself when I had the chance."

"Shepard," Liara said affectionately, "She nearly killed Ashley. She was evil. I would not put too much stock in anything she said."

The commander ran her fingers through her hair, tugging on it in her frustration. "You don't understand. The things she said cut deep." Liara looked puzzled, and Shepard tried a different tact to explain herself. "Listen, before I met you, you know that I was with a lot of other women. The thing is, I'm not proud of how I behaved with some of them."

"I cannot imagine you being less than chivalrous."

"Well, I wasn't always like that. Sometimes I lied to people I was interested in. I cheated on girlfriends. I… It's weird. Everyone always calls me a hero, but when it came to sex, I was a pretty lousy person. Desire had a way of making me into somebody else, somebody worse. That's why Cerberus thought they could tempt me so easily."

Liara moved closer to her bondmate once more, caressing her leg reassuringly. "They were wrong. You didn't give in to them."

"I nearly did. Before you came back to me, I was half-crazed with frustration and a lot of the things I fantasized about weren't exactly romantic. Hearing my own clone talk about them in my own voice, brought all of that back up again."

Liara brushed a hand over the soft skin of her bondmate's cheek. She could still remember the needy, frightened mess the commander had been before their reunion on the _Normandy_ and she was not about to let her go back there. "There is a difference between thinking about something and doing it, Shepard, between you and her."

"But she had my DNA. A part of what makes me who I am was in her too. For fuck's sake, after she killed me, she was going to rape you. Does that mean I'm capable of that too?"

Shepard swallowed hard, trying to fight back the tears, but Liara bent down, kissing them away even as they formed. "Never," she whispered. "Never. I know that you could never hurt me. You say that you used to behave badly with other women but people change. In all the time that we have been together, you have been kind and I think honest with me."

Shepard nodded, wrapping her arms around her lover. "Always, Liara." She'd never felt for anyone else what she felt for her bondmate, and whatever desires she'd had since their relationship began, they were secondary to the Spectre's love for her.

The asari stroked her commander's hair. "I know. Perhaps there is some darkness in your soul. Am I any different? I have done things since this war began that the innocent archeologist I used to be would have been shocked by."

"Hey," Shepard said soothingly, pulling Liara into her arms. "What you did, you did to help me and to help save the galaxy."

"Not that I do not appreciate your sympathy," Liara replied, "But my purpose was to remind you that you are no different than the rest of us in having parts of yourself and your past that you would just as soon forget. You are more than your genes. You are the experiences you have had. They can change us for the better or the worse. While you were out saving lives, that thing was being raised in a lab by Cerberus terrorists. Don't think that doesn't matter."

The Spectre cupped her lover's chin with her hand and gave her a long kiss. "You're the one who changed me for the better, Liara. You always know how to keep me on an even keel."

"I am happy to do it. Saving the galaxy is a difficult enough job without having to do it alone."

Shepard laughed, feeling as if a weight had been taken off of her chest. "I'm just glad I'm not in the doghouse over letting Kelly stay onboard."

Liara nuzzled against the Spectre's breasts. "I will admit, I was not thrilled to hear it. Still, I shouldn't complain too much about your penchant for rescuing people, given how we met."

"I appreciate that." Shepard reached down to stroke Liara's crest, savoring the sound of her bondmate purring against her, and she decided to press her luck. "So, what do you think?", she asked, tracing a suggestive finger down Liara's neck, "Any chance you might be in the mood?"

"Mm," the asari replied, raising an eyebrow, "I might be open to persuasion."

"Well then let me see what I can do." The commander bent down and started kissing the scaled skin she had been caressing. The asari arched into her touch but before Shepard could make it to her collarbone, she was interrupted by the buzzing of the comm unit on her desk. "I have to answer that, don't I?", she asked, biting her lip in frustration.

Liara sighed. "We are in the middle of a war."

With a groan, the Spectre pulled away from Liara's warm body, staggering across the room to her desk while trying to ignore the uncomfortable erection she had just started developing.

"What is it?", she asked, hoping she didn't sound too testy.

On the other end of the call, Samantha Traynor's voice was shaky. "Admiral Hackett is on the line for you in the war room, Ma'am."

"Can he wait? I've had a pretty long day here."

"I'm afraid not. It's the Reapers, Commander. They've taken the Citadel."

* * *

Kelly Chambers sat quietly in the port observation longue, staring out at the stars as they went by. So much time of her time recently had been spent confined to that dreadful underground base that she'd started to wonder if she'd ever enjoy a view like this again. In spite of the Collector attack, she still felt safer on the _Normandy_ than she had in a long time.

Behind her, Kelly heard the sound of footsteps. Her new roommate, she supposed as she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. "It's not the penthouse at the Ilium Grand," Miranda's cool voice told her, "But there are worse places to be confined."

"No, it's nice," she offered. "I hope you don't mind Shepard making me stay here with you. There isn't much spare space on the ship I suppose."

"It's not a problem." The operative sat down next to Kelly on the couch. "Honestly, it's good to see a friendly face. Most of the rest of the crew pretty much despises me. Not that I can blame them. Cerberus has made quite the muck of things for everyone, you included." She sighed. "I'm sorry, Kelly. If I hadn't recruited you for the Shepard project in the first place, you wouldn't have ended up going through what you did."

"You didn't know what would happen to me," Kelly said softly. Miranda was her only friend here too, and she wanted the operative to feel at ease with her.

"No, I didn't." Miranda laughed bitterly. "Truth be told, I thought it would be a nice, simple assignment. Shepard was a leach. It should have been easy for you to seduce her. Who knew she'd found true love or something that passed for it?" She shook her head. "I swear, nothing with that woman ever goes right."

"She is rather extraordinary isn't she," Kelly replied wistfully. Indeed, her professional disappointment at her failure to bed the Spectre had been mixed in with some definite personal regret at missing out on the experience.

"I suppose so," Miranda said wearily. "She had better be. Cerberus has failed. For better or worse, the galaxy's hopes are now tied to Shepard. It is quite the burden for anyone to bear."

The operative slumped wearily against Kelly's shoulder and she ran her fingers through Miranda's long, dark hair, trying to comfort her. Unlike her former supervisor, the yeoman had faith that Shepard would see them through this. After all, she had rescued Kelly first from the Collectors and then from Cerberus. Surely, she would save them from the Reapers too. And things weren't too bad here. She had a nice couch to sleep on, a friendly roommate to share it with, and she was safe. If only those damn whispers would stop, everything would be all right.

* * *

Shepard stood in front of the holographic display, looking at the image of Admiral Hackett standing in front of her. The old soldier was generally stoic in even the worst of times, but right now, she could tell that he was more concerned than usual.

"It started approximately four hours ago. The Reapers struck without warning, hitting the Citadel with a massive force led by multiple Harbinger-class dreadnoughts. Our own ships in the system were totally overwhelmed. The station fell within one hour."

"Did anyone make it out?", Shepard asked. So many people had been on the Citadel, the Council and Liara's father not least among them. The thought that they were all gone at a single stroke…

"We're still trying to get a headcount, but a fair number of refugee vessels were able to make it to the relay before the Reapers cut it off. They seemed more concerned with securing the Citadel than with stopping people from escaping."

And why not, the Spectre thought bitterly. With Thessia and Earth fallen to their enemies, Palaven burning, and much of the rest of the galaxy under siege, they were fast running out of places for refugees to flee to. "The Citadel was the center of our war effort. Is there any chance we can retake it?"

"That's the most frightening thing. It's not in the system anymore."

What could that even mean? "The Reapers destroyed the Citadel?" She thought they'd want to keep it as a trap for the next cycle.

"No, Commander. They've taken it to Earth."

She blinked in disbelief. "Is that even possible."

"We certainly didn't think so before today." Admiral Hackett paused, the strain of his job showing on his craggy face. "Shepard, we're still analyzing the data you recovered from the Cerberus facility on Hendril, but it had better show us something, because right now, we need a miracle if we're going to win this war."

* * *

**Things are starting to look pretty dark, aren't they? Coming up next, the data, a plan, and more smut! Thanks for reading.**


	9. Chapter 9

"So, there's good news and bad news."

Shepard paused before she explained what she meant, looking out at her assembled crew. They were among the best the galaxy had to offer, a fact they'd already proven in more battles than the commander cared to count, but if this new information was true, they'd soon be put to their hardest test yet.

"The technical data Cerberus gleaned from the prothean VI had already been erased by the time we got to their computers," she continued, "But fortunately, they weren't so thorough about scrubbing their notes on that data, and those told us a great deal. First off, the Citadel is the Catalyst. Apparently, the Crucible uses the station's control over the Mass Relay network to generate and channel the energy it's going to need to destroy the Reapers. Unfortunately, the Reapers know this too, and that's probably why they've taken the Citadel and moved it to Earth."

"Screw it, then." Ashley was recovered enough to return to active duty, and her injury had only sharpened her determination to win the war. "We have to go there and take it back."

"That's more or less the plan. Tomorrow, the armada that we've been building is going to jump through the Sol Relay. The Reapers have a lot of their forces at Earth, but enough of them are spread out attacking the rest of the galaxy that we've got a fighting chance. We still probably can't win the battle, but hopefully, we can hit them hard enough to give us time to deploy the Crucible. That, however, is where things get complicated."

"Ah, good," Garrus quipped. "Because I was worried that taking on half the Reaper fleet was going to be too easy."

"Well," the commander smiled grimly, "Don't worry about that. According to Anderson, when the Citadel arrived on Earth, its arms were closed and we can't dock the Crucible with them that way."

"How do we fix that?", Tali asked. "With the arms closed, we can't board the Citadel."

"The hard way," Shepard replied. "We land on the surface of the station, blow through the outer hull, and make our way to the control center. The place will probably be crawling with enemy forces though and we won't have a lot of time, since our fleet can't keep the Reapers off of the Crucible forever."

"I'm guessing," Samantha chimed in, "That we're going to be at the forefront of this attack."

"We are," Shepard responded. Sam wouldn't be with them but the Spectre suspected she was worried about her new girlfriend.

"No surprise there," Vega laughed. "It seems like it's always our number getting called these days."

"That may be true," Liara explained, "But in this case, there is an additional reason for the _Normandy_ to take the lead. We have to be there, because according to the recovered Cerberus data, we are the only ones who can stop the Reapers."

"Very dramatic, Liara," Shepard thought as the room erupted in pandemonium.

"Don't keep us in suspense," Garrus complained, "What did she mean?"

The Spectre took a deep breath. "So, Vendetta told us that the design of the Crucible had been refined by each cycle that worked on it. Well, the protheans were pretty full of themselves, so one of the changes they made was to alter the user interface so that only a prothean could use it. I guess they were worried about that much power falling into anyone else's hands. Theoretically, now that we know what they did, we could try to alter the design ourselves, but given the way the war's been going, we don't have the time."

"Fortunately," Liara explained, "Prothean technology considers Shepard to be a member of their species due to her encounters with their beacons. Of course, Javik can also activate the Crucible, which is why both of them will have to go on this mission."

"You don't think you're leaving the rest of us behind?", Ashley asked the commander in a tone that suggested she'd have to be hogtied before she'd let that happen.

"Don't worry about it," Shepard answered with a laugh before turning serious once more. "This is an all-hands-on-deck kind of situation. All combat personnel are going to be part of the assault team so tonight, do whatever you have to do to prepare, because tomorrow, the fate of the galaxy is going to be in our hands."

* * *

Shepard sat on her bed and took a sip of her wine. In front of her, Liara was finishing off her own glass, the asari remaining standing. "It's hard to believe," the Spectre said quietly, "That it was the beacons that made me special all along. If Cerberus just knew that, they wouldn't have pulled all the shit that they did. The resurrection. The cloning." She glanced down in the direction of her groin. "That."

"Come, now," Liara told her, brushing her hand over the Spectre's cheek. "Your interactions with the beacons are hardly the only way that you're special. Look at all you have accomplished so far. Your victories are all your own."

The asari's words were kind but her compliment lacked it's usual playfulness. There was a distant look in her eyes and the commander realized that she'd been so distracted by her own worries that she'd missed Liara's distress most of the evening.

Setting down her glass, she pulled her bondmate closer to her. "What's wrong, Liara? Are you worried about the battle?"

"I am," the asari conceded as she lowered herself into Shepard's lap, "But that is not the only thing on my mind." She wore the same blue and red dress she had the night they rekindled their relationship, and through its silky fabric, she could feel the commander's erection beginning to press against her. Instead of being aroused though, she was nervous, and when she continued, her voice the shook the way it had when she first met the commander.

"Something has happened," she started. "I only found out about it myself yesterday, so I do not want you to think that I have hidden it from you. I only waited this long to tell you because there is so much else going on right now…"

"Breathe, Liara," Shepard said gently, stroking her lover's scaled neck. "What happened?"

"Shepard, I… I am pregnant."

The Spectre recoiled as if she'd been struck and Liara fell out of her lap, rolling over onto the bed. "How, Liara?", Shepard snapped, shock making her words harsher than she meant them to be. "How did this happen? We're in the middle of the worst war in our history. You and I are risking death every day. This isn't exactly a good time for us to have kids."

"I know that. I…" Liara stared to fumble with her words again and then took a deep breath, gathering her thoughts before she continued. "It was the night after Thessia fell and I was so afraid." There were tears in her eyes as she remembered the events of that day. "My world had fallen, Ashley nearly died, and I thought you were leaving me. When you came to my quarters and told me otherwise, I was desperate to hold on to you, to every part of you, and I think that's why I did what I did."

Shepard understood but it didn't stop her anger from pouring out. "But how could you do that without asking me?", she protested. "It should have been my decision too. Cerberus tried to force me to breed, and then you went did the same thing."

The Shadow Broker choked back a sob. "I didn't mean to do it. I told you once that asari had to chose to conceive, and that was true, but perhaps also misleading. While it is a choice, it doesn't have to be a conscious one. I didn't think when I mapped your DNA. I just…" She stopped herself. She shouldn't keep trying to justify her actions. "I was wrong," she admitted. "I know I should have controlled myself better that night but I didn't and I can't change that now. All I can do is ask you to forgive me."

Looking into her lover's teary, blue eyes, Shepard's heart broke. Liara had done so much for her, helped her through her darkest hours, and she could do this much for her.

"I can," she said softly, brushing aside Liara's tears. "I do."

"Thank you," the asari whispered, her lips seeking out Shepard's. "I love you so much. I don't know what I'd do if you couldn't."

"And I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't saved me from Cerberus," she replied. "You took what they did to me and turned it into something I could not only live with but something I enjoy." She put her hand on Liara's stomach, trying to think about her bondmate's news in a different light. "Listen, the timing might suck and I wish we'd talked about it first, but you're the love of my life. I want a family with you, and after we blow the Reapers back beyond the galactic rim, we're going to have one."

"We are," Liara agreed, her breathing returning to normal. "It's what I want too. More than anything. And for as long as you want me, I'm yours, Shepard." She wrapped her arms around the commander's neck and against her body, she felt Shepard harden. This was their last night before the final battle and she wanted to make it count. Lowering her voice to a seductive purr, she added. "Now let me prove that to you."

Suitably encouraged by the smile spreading across her lover's freckled face, Liara laid the commander down on the bed, running her hands up the length of her body. One by one, she undid the buttons of the commander's uniform shirt, her tongue following her hands over her powerful form. "Goddess, Shepard," she murmured as she kissed her bare chest, "The things you do to me. Before we met, I'd never even joined with anyone, and now…" She took a nipple in her mouth, sucking on the hard little bud before looking up at Shepard with those bright blue eyes that drove her bondmate crazy, "…Now I can't get enough of you."

"God, Liara." Shepard pulled her bondmate to her, planting a lengthy kiss on her soft lips. "You're incredible." She unbuttoned her pants and drew out her almost painfully stiff cock, stroking it slowly. "I can't believe you actually made me appreciate this."

"Did I now?" Liara replaced Shepard's hand with her own, running it up and down the shaft. "How did I do that?"

"Mm, sort of like that," the Spectre muttered. Liara's thumb was brushing over the silky head, making the cock jump in her hand.

"Was there anything else that I did?", the asari asked, her voice all innocence even as she slowly pumped Shepard's length.

"There, uh, might have been," the Spectre gasped, rapidly losing her mind.

"Did it involve my mouth?" Liara bent down and placed a kiss on the head of Shepard's cock, her small tongue flicking out to gather up the growing wetness there.

"Jesus," Shepard managed to get out, "Please."

"Please what?" Liara kept up a torturously slow place with her hand even as she feigned ignorance of what Shepard wanted her to do.

"Please suck me."

"Of course." Liara grinned up at her commander, her lovely face still covered in a guileless smile. "I am yours, after all."

In one swift motion, the Shadow Broker took the top half of Shepard's length between her lips and sucked hard on it. The Spectre practically came then and there, her shaft jerking in Liara's mouth and sensing her bondmate's excitement, the asari slowed herself down. Her head bobbed over Shepard's cock, sucking her lover with a steady rhythm, creating wonderful but not yet overwhelming sensations.

Liara felt Shepard's fingers stroke the side of her head, and she purred happily around the cock in her mouth, the sound sending pleasant vibrations through her lover. She enjoyed so much about doing this: the heat of Shepard's erection, the way the powerful Spectre would twitch and gasp with every motion of her tongue, and most of all, the delight she could bring to the woman she loved.

While not stopping her blowjob, the Shadow Broker reached down below the base of the shaft with two fingers, finding Shepard's opening. Though the rewiring Cerberus had performed meant that it was no longer central to the commander's erotic responses, it remained sensitive, and when Liara probed inside it at the same time she suckled on the head of her lover's cock, she was rewarded with a fresh flood of precum.

With Liara's finger's thrusting into her while her mouth kept working, Shepard doubted she could last long. Her hips started to buck and she stroked the asari's crest, murmuring, "Close, sweetheart, fuck, so close." Liara responded eagerly, using her free hand to pump the base of her lover's shaft even as she licked the top of it.

Beneath her, the asari felt the tell-tale stiffening that preceded Shepard's climax and she sped up her motions, eager to feel her bondmate's pleasure. With a final upward thrust, the commander exploded, filling Liara's mouth as warm, salty liquid poured out of her cock. The asari kept stroking as she swallowed it down, but once she felt the Spectre's orgasm ebb, she stopped quickly. Between her legs, she could feel her azure pulsing with need, Shepard's moans of pleasure and the taste of her release making her anxious for her lover's touch.

Shepard sighed when the Shadow Broker's wonderful mouth left her cock, but her lover didn't leave her much time to regret its loss. Liara yanked the commander's pants the rest of the way off before pulling her own dress up over her head, leaving her in only a little pair of red lace panties. These she peeled off more slowly, giving the commander an excellent view of her damp azure, before climbing on top of her. She rocked back and forth against the base of Shepard's shaft, and each time the Spectre felt Liara's sex rub against her, she got a little closer to full hardness again.

"I need you in me," Liara begged, her desire too sharp now to be coy, "Just like when we made our daughter." The thought of that night, of how badly her bondmate had wanted her then, was all that Shepard needed. Placing her hands on Liara's hips, she lined up the swollen tip of her cock with the asari's azure, groaning as it pushed past her tight entrance. She went slowly at first, but as she entered her, Liara rolled her hips, sinking herself deeper onto Shepard's shaft. The asari's azure pulsed around her, and Shepard reached up, rubbing her lover's hard, blue nipples before moving them down to stroke her throbbing clit. She kept her thrusts slow at first while she pleasured Liara. As good as it felt to be buried in that wet heat, the Spectre's first climax had taken the edge off of her craving and she wanted to feel the asari peak before she worried about coming again herself.

As Shepard drove into her, her thrusts pressing her thumb firmly against the Shadow Broker's exposed clit, Liara failed to choke back the moans of pleasure building deep within her. Whatever anger Shepard had felt earlier, all Liara could see when she looked into her eyes now were love and a burning focus on her pleasure that drove the asari wild. Each time Shepard thrust, a little more blackness started playing at the Shadow Broker's eyes, the need to be one with her lover growing stronger.

When she started to reach out, though, Shepard uncharacteristically pushed her mind back. "Not yet," the Spectre purred, "I want to make you come first, to have it be just for you."

Choking out a "Yes," Liara bit back her craving. As much as she wanted to join, she knew that the waiting could make it even more intense when they finally did, and her hands went to her own breasts, massaging them as she focused on the pleasure Shepard was giving her.

"God, you look so beautiful like this," the Spectre breathed, her free hand caressing Liara's stomach as the other one kept rubbing her needy clit. She could feel the tension in her lover's body, the nervousness she had kept inside her since learning she was pregnant and she wanted to help her release it. "You'll always be so beautiful to me," she whispered, and when she angled her cock, dragging it over Liara's clenching inner walls, she got what she wanted. The asari came around her cock, her head thrown back in ecstasy, her wetness seeping out onto the patch of short red hair between the commander's legs.

When she heard Liara cry out above her, Shepard stopped holding back, grasping her lover's hips and speeding up her thrusts. The series of moans and gasps coming from the Shadow Broker had refueled her desire and she flipped their positions, rolling Liara onto her back as she kept fucking her. "I'm yours too," the commander reminded her beloved as she covered her face with kisses. "All of me, body and soul, are yours."

The asari's fingers dug into her lover's back, gripping her tighter with each thrust, and when she felt Shepard's movements started to become more urgent, she reached out with her thoughts once again. This time she met no resistance. Delving into Shepard's mind felt like coming home, warmth and love filling Liara's thoughts even as the added jolt of pleasure, of sensing her own azure pulsing around her commander, pushed her rapidly into a second, more powerful climax. Her orgasm seemed to rip through every nerve in her body and she took Shepard with her instantly, the Spectre crying out with pleasure as she spilled her release into the asari.

Liara grabbed her lover's head, kissing her hard as they came together, her other hand clutching at Shepard's firm buttocks even she deepened the bond, needing to feel all of her lover in every way possible. The tensions and fears that had plagued her that night were dissolved in the shared joy of the meld, and Liara wanted to maintain that connection for as long as she could. Shepard was happy to let her. Lying on top of her bondmate, stroking Liara's lovely blue face, there was no place she would rather be.

Eventually, the meld started to fade away, but Liara's affections remained, her mouth running along the top of the Spectre's shoulder even as her beloved's cock slipped out of her. She groaned as it passed over her sensitive entrance, and looking down between them, the asari could see that Shepard was amazingly still somewhat erect. A sudden impulse seized her and Liara wrapped her hand around the sticky length, pumping it hard once more.

As her bondmate's fingers flew up and down her shaft, the Spectre let out a gasp of surprise. She was incredibly sensitive from her previous orgasm and Liara was rapidly threatening to tip her over into another one. She barely managed to gasp out, "Fuck, Liara, do you want…", before the asari cut her off with a quick nip on her shoulder blade while rubbing the slick head of Shepard's cock with her thumb.

"I do," she whispered into the human's ear as her tongue traced around its outer edge. "I want to feel you everywhere. In my mind. In my mouth and in my azure. On my skin."

A chocked sound came from deep in Shepard's throat at those words and her vision went blurry as she came one last time. Jets of her release erupted out of her, covering her lover's belly and breasts in hot, sticky liquid. She felt like she couldn't stop the pulsing in her cock, especially when Liara brought her wet hand up to her mouth and made a show of sucking it clean even as Shepard kept coming all over her.

At last though, the flood stopped and Shepard collapsed panting onto her lover's slick body. Liara's waiting arms wrapped around her and once she'd recovered enough to think clearly, she whispered to the asari ,"I love you." Liara smiled back at her and Shepard added, "You know I'll do everything I possibly can to make sure you and our daughter have the future you deserve."

"And I will be right beside you," Liara assured her, kissing her forehead. Shepard nestled her face in the crook of the asari's neck, and she gently stroked her lover's mussed red hair. "I want to apologize again," she said softly, "For my behavior recently. When asari conceive, it can make us quite possessive towards our bondmates."

"Liara," Shepard mumbled as she kissed the asari's shoulder, sleep starting to weigh on her eyelids, "If feeling that way makes you fuck me like that, I doubt you'll hear me complain about it very often.

* * *

**So, the plan of attack suggested here makes a lot more sense to me in the real game as well. Why fight to a beam the Reapers could (in theory) shut off rather than get onto the station direction? As for the rest, congrats to those who guessed what was up with Liara and I hope you enjoyed all the smut.**


	10. Chapter 10

If there had been enough space in Ashley Williams' room, Sam would have paced. As it was, she had to settle for fidgeting. Beside her, the raven-haired Spectre was pulling off her boots while complaining about the burgers in the mess hall, but as she talked, all Sam could think about was tomorrow.

"I don't know how you do it," the specialist said at last, tugging nervously on her dark hair. "I mean, we might all die tomorrow and you're talking about food like everything's normal."

Ashley brought a hand up to caress Sam's cheek. "I know we're going into battle but what else is new? It's not like this is the first time we've been in danger."

"Yeah," Traynor protested, "But this is different. It's the fate of the whole galaxy on the line and half the Reaper fleet is waiting for us."

Ashley sighed in agreement, her acknowledgement of the stakes oddly comforting to the communications specialist. "I know that. But sometimes you have to put the big stuff aside and just focus on doing your job. It's not on you to destroy every Reaper out there. You carry out your orders and trust that the next guy is going to do same."

Sam raised her eyebrows incredulously. "Your advice is just don't worry about it? It's really that easy for you?"

The Spectre laughed. "Nah. Half the time, you're scared out of your wits. But you learn to live with it. Or you know, die with it, whichever comes first."

"Do you also learn to make highly inappropriate jokes?"

"Yep," Lt. Commander Williams agreed. "Gallows humor helps you forget to be terrified." Ashley swung around, wrapping her arms around the specialist and running hand over the back of her neck. "As do other things."

In spite of the flush of arousal the Spectre's touch was causing, Samantha replied with her best indigent little snort. "You're really going to use, 'We're all going to die' as a come-on tonight?"

The Spectre smirked. "Hey, it always seemed to work for Shepard." Sam laughed and Ashley added, "Anyway, I wouldn't complain about pick-up lines if I were you. You seduced a straight girl just after she got out of the med-bay."

Sam's eyes widened and her brown skin blushed adorably as she babbled. "But… I mean… I didn't exactly seduce you and you'd been up for a few days before…"

Ashley kissed her nose. "I was just kidding, Sam, really. Don't worry. It was great."

The specialist relaxed in her arms and Ashley started placing a series of kisses on her neck. "Besides," she added while nibbling on the hollow at the base of her lover's throat, "I'm not exactly straight anymore, thanks to you."

"Really?" Sam's hands found the zipper at the back of Ashley's jumpsuit and started peeling it open. "You're telling me you never thought about sleeping with women before I came along?"

"Oh, I don't know if I'd go that far," Ashley laughed, pulling the garment off of her shoulders, revealing her well-toned body. "I mean, I noticed when other women were good looking, but I never really made the leap to doing anything about it. I liked guys too so I didn't feel the drive to explore those feelings."

"What changed?", Sam asked as she unhooked Ashley's bra.

"You," she grinned. "You were very persistent."

Sam took her lover's firm breasts into her palms and started massaging them. "What can I say? I know how to go for what I want and I really wanted you."

The Spectre moaned as Sam's thumbs circled her nipples. They stiffened quickly and her girlfriend covered one with her mouth, licking the tip. Ashley gripped her dark hair, encouraging her to keep going, and Sam replied by nibbling around the edge of the breast while rolling the other nipple between her fingers. The Spectre gasped and Sam felt her heart beating faster at the sound. It gave her an incredible rush, having this effect on the powerful soldier, and she wanted more.

Guiding Ashley backwards until she was lying flat on the bed, Sam started making her way down her stomach, caressing the muscles there as they arched beneath her touch. She ran her tongue over every inch of it, enjoying the salty taste of her girlfriend's skin.

"Having fun down there?", the Spectre asked playfully. She'd never been with someone who seemed to enjoy her body quite this much.

"God, your abs are fantastic," Sam gushed. "How many sit-ups did it take to get those?"

"Plenty. I'm glad you appreciate all my hard work."

"Definitely." Sam finished pulling off the jumpsuit, leaving Ashley in only her grey underwear. "Let me show you how much."

Ashley grunted with pleasure when Sam stroked her clit through the fabric of her underwear. There was already a small wet spot there and the specialist could see it growing as she kept rubbing her lover. Impatiently, Sam pulled the garment down and spread Ashley's folds so that she could place a wet kiss on the throbbing clit she revealed.

The marine sighed happily as Sam slipped a finger inside her, slowly caressing her front wall as she ran her tongue all around her sex. "God, Sam," she muttered, "You do know how to make a girl feel special." The specialist looked up at her lover, a playful light in her brown eyes. Gradually, she withdrew her finger and resumed using her mouth, her tongue making little strokes that brought her closer and closer to Ashley's clit. Warmth bathed her bud and the marine cried out. "Yes," she urged, "Keep going. Suck it. Fuck yes, suck it."

Sam did as she was bid, her lips closing around Ashley's clit, and she could feel the Spectre's legs pressing against her in response. Flicking her tongue over the head of her lover's clit even as she kept suckling, she had to grab on the marine's bucking hips to keep up her rhythm. Ashley screamed and as her release spilled out of her and onto the specialist's face, Sam lapped it up eagerly, not stopping until the powerful body above her grew still.

She crawled up alongside the Spectre, feeling a surge of pride at the broad grin on her girlfriend's face. "So," Ashley asked after tasting herself in a luxuriously slow kiss, "What can I do for you in return?"

"I was hoping you'd ask that," Sam smiled back. The specialist climbed down off the bed to rummage through her overnight bag. "I brought something I thought you might like. Well, it's something I'd like, but I'd like it if you liked it to."

Ashley's curiosity got the better of her and she sat up, laughing as she did. "Well, what is it? The suspense is killing me."

"Ah, here we go." Sam's fingers closed around her prize, and she pulled out a somewhat lengthy, black shaft with a flared head at the top and a bulbous attachment at the base. "I was hoping you would wear this and, you know, fuck me."

"Sure thing," the Spectre offered before adding, "Just so you know, I haven't done this before, which you might have guessed since I haven't been with any other women. I mean, I suppose a guy might have wanted me to fuck him, but none of them did, so, anyway, first timer here."

Sam smiled, excited to have the chance to introduce her girlfriend to another new pleasure. "Oh, you'll love it," she promised. "I bought one of the new sensory models. It works off of some kind of nerve induction, so it sort of feels like it's a part of you."

Ashley raised an eyebrow. "Sounds expensive on a specialist's pay."

The marine grinned as her lover started to blush once more. "I might have bought it on credit." A mischievous little smile crossed her face. "Hey, I figure if the world ends, I won't have to pay it back and if it doesn't, I'll be too happy to care about the money."

"Devious." The marine licked her lips, deciding to have a bit of fun with Sam. "What a naughty little specialist you are."

"Really?" Sam raised an eyebrow suggestively. "And what are you going to do about that, Ma'am?"

"Not sure yet." Ashley took the toy from Traynor, looking it over quickly before returning her gaze to her girlfriend. "But right now, I think you should strip for me. It doesn't seem right that I'm the only one here without my clothes."

The specialist gave her a little salute. "Yes, Ma'am." Slowly, she unfastened the buttons on her uniform shirt, peeling it open to reveal a line of tan skin broken only by the clasp of her lacy black bra Sam undid that as well and slipped out of the lingerie while leaving her shirt on but undone enough to reveal a considerable amount of her cleavage.

Next, she whipped off her belt and unbuttoned her pants before sliding them over her hips with perhaps a little more shimmy than was strictly necessary. Over on the bed, she could see Ashley's dark eyes focusing on her, devouring every inch of her body with an hunger that sent a thrill through Sam, and she decided to heat up her show. "I'm sorry, Ma'am," she breathed, running a finger along the front of her black lace panties before sliding it beneath them to caress her throbbing sex, "I'm afraid these aren't regulation."

"Well, then," Ashley grinned, "You'll have to lose them, won't you?"

"I imagine so." Sam slid down the panties and stepped out of them before moving back to her shirt, but Ashley stopped her.

"No, leave that on. I want to fuck you in uniform." Sam swallowed hard at those words, her eyes widening with lust, even as Ashley was adding, "Now, put this in me."

Eagerly, Sam crawled back onto the bed. A quick check with her finger revealed that her lover remained pleasingly wet and so she took the toy in hand and slid the short end into Ashley. The Spectre groaned at the penetration and as Sam looked the thing over for the "on" switch, strong hands were delving underneath her shirt, fondling her full breasts. Ashley was still getting the hang of this, but Sam seemed to be enjoying what she was doing well enough, moaning softly.

Ashley's hands were making it hard for Sam to figure out the toy, but when she did, her lover nearly jumped up off the bed in surprise. Sam pressed a small button at the base and it was as if the Spectre could feel her girlfriend's hand on a particularly sensitive part of her she'd never had before. "Whoa," she gasped, "That's money well-spent."

Sam didn't reply with words. Between Ashley's climax, stripping for her, her touch, and now her reaction to the toy, Sam needed to be fucked now. Climbing on top of the marine, she rubbed her slick folds up against the base of the shaft. The contact on her sex felt good and Ashley took her lead, pulling Sam in for a kiss while fondling her breasts once more.

The wetness was perhaps too subtle a sensation for the toy to translate, but the friction was not, a pleasant pressure making Ashley bite her lip as she tried to keep herself under control. Hungrily, she ran her tongue along Sam's earlobe while telling her, "I'm afraid your punishment will have to be quite rigorous, specialist."

"Go on, Ma'am," Specialist Traynor whimpered, her need overwhelming her love of a good banter. "Do it."

Ashley did her best to oblige, lifting the specialist up and trying to line her entrance up with the flared head of the toy. She'd never fucked from this end before, but Sam helped, shifting her hips, and the sensation of her lover's body opening up to her told Ash when she'd gotten the angle right.

Sam went slowly, letting herself got accustomed to the penetration. It had been too long since she'd been properly fucked and she wanted to savor this. As she slowly took more of the shaft into herself, Ashley could only stare up in awe. The way the specialist looked just then was something she couldn't find the words to describe. The tension in her body, her curve of her neck titled back in pleasure, her eyes screwed closed, was an image the Spectre would always treasure.

At last, Ashley was sheathed all the way inside, and tentatively at first, she started thrusting. She tried to replicate the things she liked herself, but it wasn't easy to concentrate, especially with the way the toy was stimulating her nervous system, making it feel almost as if it was her Sam was squeezing, warm and tight around her. Still, she didn't seem to be doing too badly, not with the way her girlfriend moaned with each stroke. Ash reached up, undoing the rest of the buttons of Sam's shirt to give her better access to her breasts, but even as she played with her lover's hard, brown nipples, she left the garment on. She'd delayed acting on her attraction to the specialist because she was her junior officer, but now that she'd given into temptation, the uniform emphasized the delicious taboo of what she was doing.

Sam rocked back and forth on Ashley's shaft, angling her body to make sure that it hit the right spots inside of her. What her lover lacked in experience though, she made up for in enthusiasm. The intensity in her eyes as she took the specialist was making Sam's clit throb and she took Ash's hand in her own, guiding it to her needy bud.

"Sorry," Ashley told her as she started rubbing up and down its shaft. "I got so caught up that I forgot all about that."

"Don't worry," Sam pleaded through the pleasure, "Just don't stop."

"Wasn't planning on it." Indeed, Ashley did just the opposite, speeding up her thrusts. She could hear the desperation in the specialist's voice and she badly wanted to watch her fall into her climax. With her other hand, she grabbed Sam's ass, pushing herself deeper into her lover and pressing her hand more firmly against her clit. When Sam's movements grew more frantic, Ashley knew she was almost there, and a couple of deep strokes later, the smaller woman's body spasmed as her orgasm overtook her.

For a few moments, Ashley just enjoyed the sight of Sam above her, sweat running down her beautiful, tan skin, her open mouth panting with wordless pleasure, but then she started fucking her again. The contractions of Sam's body around her had translated to the most wonderful pressure on her clit and Ashley could feel the need to come once more building.

"Turn around," she ordered, and Sam obeyed. She twisted her body, not wanting to lose the feeling of fullness inside of her, and Ashley sat up, repositioning her girlfriend on her hand and knees. Kneading the woman's pleasantly soft ass, Ashley began thrusting into her from behind, able to go even deeper from this position. Sam screamed with pleasure, writhing around her shaft, but Ash's strong hands held her in place as she took her.

"Fuck, you feel good," she muttered. "I imagine you could get out of all sorts of infractions this way."

"Just with you," Sam assured her, pushing back into Ashley's hips. "Now give me everything you've got, Ma'am."

"Whatever you say, specialist," Ashley chuckled as she kept thrusting.

Sam couldn't even try to reply coherently. Ashley had sped up again and the specialist, already sensitive from her first climax, was close to coming again. She'd never been fucked quite this vigorously, the powerful Spectre hitting spots in her none of her other girlfriends had quite managed.

"God," Ashley grunted, Sam's pleasure evident in the adorable whimpering sounds she was making, "I can feel how close you are. How tight you're squeezing me. I want to feel it. Feel you come for me. You gonna come for me, baby?"

The question supplied its own answer. Hearing her superior officer say those things to her was the last little bit of stimulation Sam needed. She screamed, not caring who might hear her, and as her pussy tightened around the shaft, the toy's stimulation of her clit sent Ashley after her. She managed a final, powerful thrust into Sam as their fluids both coated the shaft, and then she just held on, staying buried as deeply as she could while tremors of pleasure ran through her whole body.

Ash's knees went wobbly and she slumped down on top of Sam's back even as her lover was experiencing the same difficultly. The two officers tumbled down onto the bed in a mess of limbs, Ashley slipping out of the specialist as they did.

It took a minute for her panting to stop, but when it did, Sam reached down and deactivated the toy, sliding it out of Ashley before throwing herself into her arms. "So, did I do okay for a beginner?", the Spectre asked, a pleased smile on her pretty face.

"You were great," Sam cooed sleepily, the parts of her brain responsible for conversation still waking back up.

"Well, I had some good directions. That and I tried to remember what I liked and do it for you."

"It bloody well worked," Sam agreed, but just then, a thought occurred to her. "Ash," she asked tentatively, "About you liking getting fucked… Long term, are you going to be happy with doing it this way instead? Because while this would be a hell of a fling, I was hoping it might turn into more.

"Don't worry," Ashley replied, kissing her sweaty forehead, "I'm pretty damn satisfied with what we just did and after we kick the Reapers asses off of Earth, I want it to be you that I come back to."

The Reapers. Sam realized it had been quite some time since she'd thought about them. It was a nice realization, especially when combined with the pleasant soreness in her body, inside and out.

"Though," Ashley added, "I wouldn't mind you taking a turn on the other end some time. Think you'd be up for the challenge?"

Sam kissed her chest. "You come back to me alive, she promised, "And I will be up for anything you want."

* * *

**I wish there was more Ash/Sam; I find them so much fun to write. Next up, it's shit hits the fan time.**


	11. Chapter 11

In all the years she'd been a soldier, Shepard had never gone into battle with a fleet like this. Humans, asari, turians, quarians and many more species had come, thousands of ships, all united in a single purpose. It still wasn't enough. Not to defeat the Reapers, not without the Crucible, but it was a hell of a sight to behold.

As she watched the fleet go by, she could hear Admiral Hackett finishing his speech. "Stand fast," he exhorted them. "Stand tall. Stand together. Hackett out."

It was a good speech, she thought, from a great man, but she wondered how many times across how many cycles others had said the same kinds of things, how many soldiers had gone into battle against the Reapers so inspired, only to vanish into the dust of history. Fastening her helmet, she put such thoughts aside. What those other races had or hadn't done didn't matter anymore. This was their chance, the last one they would ever get, and they had to make the most of it.

"Come on," she told the rest of her team. "We'd better get to the shuttle bay."

As the men and women she was counting on to help her save the galaxy started to file out of the cockpit, she turned back to Joker. "Just get us in safely," she told her pilot, "We'll do the rest."

"No problem, Commander," Jeff laughed as he guided the _Normandy_ towards the mass relay, "When have I ever let you down?"

Liara said nothing but a part of her raged at those words. She had never entirely forgiven the pilot for the way that his insubordination had cost Shepard her life when the SR-1 was destroyed, but now was not the time to revisit old grievances. Next to her, Liara heard Javik, who did not know that story, say, "Then do not start now."

"I know he won't," Shepard told the prothean. She sounded confidant and Liara smiled at her words. Her commander was more forgiving than she was and a far better leader. Joker had doubtless had given himself enough grief over that day. He needed reassurance now, not her old resentments.

As they walked to the elevator, Garrus turned to Shepard. "So, two teams, right? What's the breakdown?"

Shepard took a deep breath. As hard as it had been to come to this decision, she knew what she had to do. "First of all, Javik and I have to be split up. We're the ones who can operate the Crucible and we can't risk being together in case something goes seriously wrong. Garrus, Ashley, and Miranda; you're with me. Javik, Liara, Tali, and James will make up the other group."

No one dissented but a few of the others stole glances at Liara, surprised that she wasn't going to be with Shepard. The asari, though, said nothing. She and Shepard had discussed it that morning and as hard as it was, she understood.

* * *

_Laying in bed, her commander's cock laying against the curve of her ass, her strong arms pulled around the asari, it was hard for Liara to think about work. Her whole body was still tingling from the night before, her azure pleasantly sore, but she knew they had to discuss this._

"_It's about the mission," the Spectre told her. "Usually, I love to fight side by side with you, but today, I have to be able to focus on getting the arms open and operating the Crucible. There's too much at stake to risk being distracted by anything else."_

"_You cannot leave me behind," Shadow Broker insisted. The time she had spent waiting for Shepard to come back from beyond the Omega 4 Relay had been agonizing. The thought of doing that again, with the fate of the galaxy hanging in the balance, was unbearable. "I realize I am pregnant but it is our future and our daughter's future, that we are fighting for, and I will not be left out of that."_

"_I know." Shepard turned Liara around in her arms, kissing her long and deep while her fingers stroked her bondmate's cheek. When it broke, her voice was soft as she reassured Liara, "I'm not trying to ground you. It's just that if you're there, I could lose my focus; maybe make a mistake trying to protect you. If you're in the other team with Javik, that won't happen."_

_The Shadow Broker sighed. "I would prefer to be with you, but I can understand that. It would be hard for me to react rationally if you were threatened either."_

"_Okay then," Shepard said, trying to put on her best reassuring smile. "I guess we'll meet up at the Council chambers then."_

"_See that we do," Liara insisted, running a possessive hand along the Spectre's curves, "Because I have no intention of losing you."_

* * *

By the time the shuttle bay doors opened, the sky was already on fire. All across the space over Earth, Shepard could see the flashes of light as the allied ships engaged the Reaper fleet. The _Normandy_, however, was focused on only one target: the Citadel. The _Destiny Ascension_ was leading a wedge of their strongest dreadnoughts towards the station but they were just a diversion. It was the _Normandy_, with its stealth systems, that had the task of delivering the assault teams.

The frigate moved into a hovering position just short of the station even as off to their port side, Shepard could see the massive shape of a Sovereign-class Reaper coming into view. Before it reached them though, it was stopped in its tracks as powerful beams of energy from two turian dreadnoughts impacted into the ship.

"Now!", the commander barked into her headset, and while the Reaper was distracted, a spread of torpedoes flew out from the _Normandy_ and impacted into the side of the station. A series of small holes appeared along the hull and the shuttles blasted off, aiming for the newly created openings. All around them, the fleet pressed its attack, throwing everything they had at the Reapers, paying in blood for the time her teams needed to land.

Cortez guided them down through the hails of fire, and a tense minute later, they hovered above one of the holes in the station. "Everybody out," the pilot told them, and as the shuttle's hatch opened, Shepard could see into the Citadel. It was dark inside, only a dim red light coming out of the opening, but in that darkness, husks were gathering, the creatures unaffected by the vacuum that was rapidly replacing the air inside.

Holding up a grenade and arming it, the commander turned to Miranda. "Send it in," she told the operative, and a biotic field enveloped the small explosive, moving it through the void. A flicker of flame erupted from inside the Citadel and Shepard launched herself out into space, loosely following the path of the grenade. She slammed into the hull, her magnetized boots locking on as soon as they made contact with the surface of the Citadel. Behind her, first Ashley and then Miranda quickly followed, but even as Garrus took off, the Spectre saw one of the Reapers bearing down on to their ship. Across the comm, she screamed "Look out!", to Cortez but it was too late. A red light flashed in the darkness and in a instant, the shuttle and its pilot disappeared in a burst of flame.

There was no time for her to grieve. The edge of the blast had caught the leaping Garrus and the turian was propelled into the hull of the Citadel, his shields collapsing and his body battered by the impact.

"Clear the room," Shepard barked and as Miranda and Ashley fired down at the remaining husks, the Spectre rushed over to her fallen comrade. Though the turian was clearly injured, mercifully his breathing apparatus didn't seem to have been damaged.

Reaching her friend, Shepard injected a dose of medi-gel into him and helped the turian back to his feet. There were cracks in his armor and the sooner she got him out of the vacuum, the better. Together, they hurried towards the breech as best their mag-boots would let them, but even as they ran, one of the Spectre's eyes was looking across the hull at the other shuttle. It was taking off, the team already departed from it, when the Reaper locked on. The first shot missed as the shuttle juked and before a second one could be fired, the Reaper was struck amid ship by the _Normandy_'s Thanix canon. Even as her ship engaged the enemy though, Shepard forced herself to look away. She and Garrus had reached the hole and other team was safely on-board the station. That was all she could afford to think about for now.

* * *

Liara gritted her teeth, sweat running down her forehead as she strained to maintain the barrier wall she was holding in front of herself and Tali. "Hold on, Liara. I've got this," the quarian promised, touching a control on her omni-tool. Her drone floated up behind the Cannibals, firing an electric pulse that jolted two of the creatures. They turned their arm cannons on the floating pest, and when the pressure on her barriers eased, Liara was able to hurl a singularity into their midst. As the creatures floated helplessly in the air, Tali opened up on them with her shotgun, picking the beasts off one by one while the Shadow Broker joined in with her submachine gun.

Across the bloody ruins of what had once been a garden, Javik dove out of the way of a charging Brute, taking a savage slash across his calf as he did. From behind him Vega fired a burst from his Adas Anti-Synthetic Rifle into the monster's small head, knocking it away from the prothean. Javik took advantage of the opening to throw a dark channel at the Brute and when Liara saw the tell-tale glow appear around its body, she added a warp. The biotic field exploded in a glittering detonation, blowing apart the two Husks advancing behind the beast, and when Tali added a plasma shotgun blast, it fell, crashing into the remains of a rose bush.

"Madre de dios," Vega gasped, wiping the blood away from a cut on his forehead that a Banshee in the last wave had left him with. "These things do not stop coming."

"Still no response from Shepard?", Liara asked as she applied medi-gel to the leg wound the Brute had left on Javik, suspecting she knew the answer.

"No, they can't get through," Tali answered. "The Reapers or something else is creating too much interference for the comms to work."

"You can't compensate?", Vega asked.

"I'm afraid not. But we're almost there." She pointed a long, suited finger into the darkness. "According to the schematics, there's an elevator behind that café that should be able to get us close to the Council chambers. Shepard should be waiting for us there."

Wiping her forehead, Liara did her best to believe the quarian. After all, their team had made it this far, and if they could fight through the Reapers forces, then she had faith that Shepard had done the same.


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry it took so long for this update. As you'll see, there was a lot of stuff to get lined up. In the meantime, I've posted a few non-canonical smut shots set in this universe in the story, "Flesh is Weak," so check that out if you're so inclined.**

* * *

"How much further?", Ashley panted as she smashed down the Maruader hurling itself at her, the omni-blade on her rifle plunging deep into the corrupted turian's chest.

"Why?", Shepard asked, spraying down the last of the Cannibals that had tried to flank them with her sub-machine gun as she replied. "You getting tired there, marine?"

"No, Ma'am," Ashley replied crisply as she withdrew the blade, the last of their foes dealt with for now. "Just curious how much more fun we get to have today."

The other Spectre sounded tired though. They both were. With Garrus injured from the get-go and the lightly armored Miranda better suited to a support role, she and Ashley had been bearing the brunt of the seemingly endless waves of Reaper troops between them and their objective. Shepard's body ached from the shots she'd taken and her armor felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. Still, she would be damned if she'd let either of them give up so close to the end.

"Glad to hear it," she replied with a forced laugh, "Anyway, we're almost there. We just have to clear this corridor and then take elevator to the rendezvous point." And hopefully to Liara. Whatever was screwing up their communications, it had left Shepard unable to check in with her bondmate or the rest of the second team and in the brief pauses between battles she tried to keep her mind from dwelling on how they might be faring.

There was little enough time for such thoughts anyway. From the darkness of the hallway ahead, she heard an all-too-familiar wail, the scream of the Banshee seeming to cut straight into her weary soul. Ahead of it, the lithe, glowing forms of Husks were emerging, and Shepard leveled her sub-machine gun, steeling herself for one more battle.

"Get ready," she barked back to her team-mates, "Looks like we've got a dance or two left before we can call it a night."

* * *

They were almost to the elevator, and not a moment too soon, Liara thought. Her head was pounding from the levels of biotic power she'd had to use and her shoulder was still sore from the Ravager blast she hadn't quite dodged. Nor was she the exception. Javik was limping from the Brute's slash to his leg, Vega had a head wound that in spite of the medi-gel hadn't entirely stopped bleeding, and Tali's suit had been torn and patched more than once, threatening the quarian mechanic with infection if they even lived that long.

The elevator to the control chamber was just around the corner, along with the promise of an end to all of this horror. As the team approached the turn though, with Javik and Tali in the lead, and she and James behind them, Liara heard the sound of heavy footsteps. It was only one person, and for a second, the Shadow Broker hoped that perhaps it was a survivor of this hell, but when the figure turned the corner, she realized she couldn't have been more wrong. The creature that stood before them was one that Liara had only seen before in intelligence reports, but she recognized it all the same. It was a Collector.

It was no ordinary Collector though, the creature taller and more regal than most of its kind, and filled with a terrible power. Dark energy oozed from ever nook of its armored carapice and where its eyes should be, there was just a void. It was horribly alien and yet somehow familiar, but it wasn't until it spoke that Liara realized why.

"Prothean." It addressed Javik, but Liara was the one who recognized the voice. It was one that still appeared in her nightmares sometimes, the voice of Sovereign that had come out of the broken shell of Saren aboard the Citadel. "Your race's time has passed," whatever Reaper had possessed this thing boomed, "As has yours."

"Die, abomination!", Javik snarled, a hate filling his four eyes that Liara had never seen there before, but when he raised an arm to unleash his biotics, the creature struck first. From its outstretched claw, it relased a massive pulse of energy that smashed through the prothean's barriers and sent him flying down the stairs and into the blood-drenched garden they had just come from.

Tali reacted next, firing a blast from her shotgun at the Reaper-possessed Collector, but though the shot struck it clean on its chest, the creature barely winced and Liara remembered with growing horror how much firepower it had taken to bring down Saren. Its taloned hand lashed out lightning-quick, catching the quarian it its grip and hurling her like a rag doll across the garden. Swiftly recovering from her shock, Liara extended her biotics, grabbing her friend in a field that cushioned her from the worst of the impact just in the nick of time.

James meanwhile opened fire with his assault rifle, trying to pin the creature down, but its barriers were too strong to be so easily stopped. With a flutter of its wings, it closed the distance with the marine and, ignoring the shots landing along its body, ripped through his armor and pierced his flesh with its claws. James screamed as blood started oozing from the hole in his chest and Liara turned back, unleashing the full force of her biotics against the Collector. Her eyes went dark as she pushed out every drop of energy she could muster and just as it felt like her temples might burst, the monster mercifully staggered backwards, releasing James from its grip.

Now, though, Liara had its full attention. Remembering how Shepard had directed them to fight the thing that had once been Saren, she opted against holding her ground, instead fleeing backwards from the Collector and towards the cover of a low metal wall in the garden. As she ran, she fired off shots from her submachine gun, but they were meant to distract the creature from her team-mates more than to really wound it.

She managed to stay out of reach of its talons, and when it fired a biotic burst at her, the asari leapt, diving behind the wall in time to avoid the full force of its blast. Even still, she could feel the power of its shot, her skin flaring uncomfortably even though layers of wall and biotics and armor.

"Fools!" The creature's voice rang out through the dimly lit garden, pounding in the ears of the battered warriors, trying to eat away at their resolve. "You struggle against the inevitable in vain. Accept your fates."

Liara had no intention of doing that, but as she looked around at the team: James, clutching his ruined chest, Tali and Javik struggling even to stand, she realized that if she didn't come up with a plan, they might not have much of a choice and she and her baby might not have much of a chance.

* * *

The elevator doors opened onto the top floor of the Presidium and Shepard led her team out, their gun-lights scanning the darkness for some sign of the other team. There was nothing there though, nothing except more bodies. Humans, asari, turians and more were strewn around the floor like some bloody collage, ripped into enough pieces that they hadn't been able to be reanimated and sent back into battle against their own people.

Trying to stay calm, the Spectre called out for Liara, hoping that her lover was somewhere in the room she couldn't see, but there was no answer to her calls, only her own voice echoing back to her.

"We have to keep moving," Miranda implored her, the operative's hand clutching her side where the Banshee had slashed it, her pain evident even if she woudn't give voice to it.

"I realize that." The bondmate in her wanted to head to the other elevator and take it down, going back along the path that Liara's team was supposed to be on, but that was a luxury Spectres didn't get. Every minute the Crucible wasn't fired, countless good men and women were dying in battle with the Reapers and that had to outweigh four lives, even if one of them was the asari she loved more than anything else, even if that asari was carrying their daughter. Besides, she tried to reassure herself, once the Crucuble fired, the Reaper forces should all be destroyed, including whichever ones might be attacking Liara.

It was eerily silent in the Council chambers and as they made their way up the stairs, Shepard found herself thinking of the day almost three years ago when she'd battled her way up those same steps. It had been Liara and Wrex by her side then, the din of battle all around them as the Geth made their last stand. Now, there was only the sound of their footsteps filling the vast halls and irrationally, she found she missed the distraction.

Reaching the controls Saren had used back then, Shepard inserted the OSD and entered the command sequence required to open the Citadel's arms. Thankfully, the system accepted her Spectre authorization codes without complaint and, turning back to her team, she nodded with relief. "We're in," she told them. "Nothing to do now but wait. Once the Crucible docks, it should open up additional interface options here, but I don't know how long that will take. It's not like anyone's done this before."

"We better not get an error message," Garrus quipped, setting down his Black Widow and prying off an shattered piece of his chestplate so that he could apply medi-gel to the burns beneath it.

"Yeah," Ashley agreed, trying to keep her mind off of the oppressive sense of anticipation she was feeling, "It'd really suck to hear, 'I'm sorry your operation could not be completed as requested. Please contact Alliance technical support branch for assistance.'"

"Hey," Shepard reassured them, "At least this thing wasn't built by the lowest bidder like most government projects." She sighed, resting her hands on her thighs. "It'll work. It has to."

"I would certainly hope so." The words, though, didn't come from any of her team. Instead, striding out of the darkness, flanked by several Phantoms, was the person she least wanted to see right now. It was the Illusive Man, and as he approached, he added, "It really would be a shame to have gone to all this trouble for nothing."

* * *

**Sorry about the cliff-hanger. (But not really) It shouldn't been too long until the next chapter and in the meantime, let me know what you think of these twists.**


	13. Chapter 13

"You!", Shepard snarled, whirling to face the new arrivals as they made their way up the steps and towards the Citadel controls. There were a couple of Phantoms, a pair of Nemeses, and a Dragoon with the Illusive Man, but it was their leader that had her full attention. "I should have known you'd stick your slimy head up here before the end."

"Of course," the Illusive Man told her. The arrogant smile he so often wore was still plastered on, but his face had changed. Dark spider webs of cybernetics ran beneath his skin and strange energies filled his piercing blue eyes. "Your case has always intrigued me."

"Well, you were wrong about it," she snapped, the rage that she'd been carrying towards this monster spilling out. "All along, it was just my prothean-altered brain that you needed. All the rest of the shit you did to me was for nothing."

"It's a price I'm happy to have paid," he replied nonchalantly, ignoring the doubt and anguish she'd suffered because of his machinations. "After all, you're going to help Cerberus achieve everything that I ever wanted it to."

"Destroying the Reapers? Yeah, I know you need me or Javik to do that, so why don't you just get the fuck out of here and leave me to it." Every fiber of her being didn't want to give him that chance. Just the sight of the bastard who had tried again and again to destroy her life and to hurt the people that she cared about, who'd been responsible for countless atrocities, was making her quiver with rage, but she couldn't take any chances right now. She had to make sure she was ready to activate the Crucible when it docked. Nothing else mattered.

"I'm afraid it's not as simple as that. Destroying the Reapers isn't the only thing that the Crucible can do. With it, you can take control of them instead. They possess nearly limitless power. Power that humanity could use to dominate the galaxy forever. That's why the Protheans altered its design. Anyone can operate the Crucible, but only a member of their race, or someone who can pass for one, can activate that function."

Her mind raced. "But, the files said…"

"Exactly what I wanted them to. I needed to ensure that you would be here at the proper time. I couldn't count on the Alliance sharing my priorities after all."

"Well, I certainly don't," she growled, her green eyes narrowing with rage. "I'm blowing these bastards to hell and if you don't leave right now, you'll be there to welcome them."

"Don't be a fool," he chided her. "Think of Earth. Think of all the people who've died there in the last year because we lacked the power to protect them. With the Reapers under humanity's control, that will never happen again."

"You mean under your control," Miranda interjected coldly, fixing a disapproving gaze on the man who had once been her mentor. "I used to believe in you and in what you stood for but how many innocent people have you slaughtered in the last six months? How much worse would you do with the Reapers at your command?"

"I wouldn't have thought you were so squeamish, Miss Lawson," he told her dismissively. "At least not until you failed me and then betrayed humanity out of concern for your so-called sister."

"Miranda's right," Shepard responded, surprised to hear herself saying those words. "Humanity can look after itself. It always has. I'm not sure anyone should have the kind of power you're talking about and I'm definitely not going to risk you or someone like you ending up in control of the Crucible after I activate it. The Reapers die. End of story."

The Illusive Man shrugged. "I suspected you would make that decision, commander. After all, someone who lacks the simple regard for their species to pass along their genes can hardly be expected to understand what I'm trying to accomplish here. Fortunately, I do not require you to agree with me. Co-opting the technology of the Reapers has allowed me to do far more than simply hide my presence from them."

The mastermind behind Cerberus raised his hand and as his eyes flared with light, Shepard felt a sudden heaviness in her limbs. She tried to lift her gun, but her arms refused to obey her commands, hanging slack and useless at her sides instead. "What the f…", she started to force out even as her mouth stopped working properly.

All around her, the rest of the Cerberus forces were starting to move. "Kill the traitor," the Illusive Man told them as he focused his attention on keeping Shepard from moving. "Leave the other two alive. They may still be useful."

* * *

Everyone always remembered to secure the guns. Even, and perhaps especially on a warship, it was hard to get a hold of a weapon without a good reason. The tools, not so much, and that was why Kelly Chambers was currently armed with an electric spanner as she made her way through the decks of the _Normandy_.

In all of the chaos, it had been easy enough for her to get out of her room unnoticed and as she made her way towards the bridge, she tried to steel her mind for what she had to do next. It wasn't that she wanted to hurt anyone. She hated violence, whether or not she was the one committing it, but the voices had made her a promise. If she could just shut down the _Normandy_, than everything would be okay. This dreadful war would end, the screaming in her head would stop, and she and the rest of the crew could all be at peace.

The lift doors opened, and she was relieved by what she found. Most of the crew had been drawn elsewhere by the battle and the those few left were distracted, attending to their duties instead of paying attention to the new arrival.

The closest person to her was Samantha Traynor, standing at her station and furiously relaying communications from the other ships in the fleet. Kelly liked Sam. The specialist had been much friendlier to her than many of the other crew members and for an instant, she hesitated, not wanting to hurt her. Samantha began to turn around, alerted by the sound of footsteps, and Kelly wanted to ask for her help.

"Kelly?", she started to ask, confused to see the yeoman there, and the voices whispered, "She won't understand." Chambers struck the specialist in the center of her chest, delivering a powerful electric shock to her unprotected body. A small yelp was the only sound Samantha made as she crashed down to the deck, unconscious, and Kelly rushed on towards the cockpit and her promised salvation.

* * *

As the powerful abomination hovered across the garden, Javik pulled himself up out of the dirt, tossing aside the potted plant he had been thrown into. His spine was a lance of pain, and when he exhaled, he felt his ribs press up against his lungs, making each breath an agony. He ignored it. Pain was a luxury for the weak and right now, he could ill afford weakness. Picking up his particle rifle, Javik fired, unleashing a brilliant green beam at barriers that glowed purple under the impact.

Energy appeared around the creature's hand but when it hurled at Javik, the prothean was ready, throwing himself with deliberate speed across the floor. It still wasn't enough. Even though he avoided a direct hit, the edges of the Collector's power still seared him, his weakened barriers insufficient to prevent the flesh of his side from starting to melt away.

Tali activated a device on her gauntlet, draining some of the power from its defenses and while it was relatively vulnerable, James struck. The injured marine hurled himself into the Collector, smashing its chest with his shoulder guard and while it was left spinning, he leveled his rifle, emptying a clip into it point-blank. A hunk of its carapace flew off, yellow fluids dripping from the wound, but the human paid a terrible price for his bravery.

The Collector grabbed a hold of his throat and energy flowed out of its hand, his flesh beginning to melt under the terrible heat. James screamed, a sound of pure pain too deep for words, and though all three of his teammates opened fire, spraying the creature will everything they had, it didn't relent, instead continuing to cook the lieutenant alive. When Liara added a powerful warp blast to their onslaught, the monster at last released James, but it was too late. The burnt corpse that fell from its grasp was barely recognizable as human, let alone alive.

Tali cried out in anger, firing her shotgun once more into the creature but it ignored her, instead resuming its movement towards Javik. The prothean met its gaze and as he looked into the black sockets where its eyes should have been, he saw a terrible reminder what had become of his entire species. The soldiers under his command who had once been his friends, to say nothing of whole planetary populations, had been turned into those creatures and then sent to hunt down the rest of their kind. And they'd succeeded. It was too late for his cycle. Too late for him.

But not too late for these people. This thing would not have them. Reaching down, Javik touched a control on his belt and then turned back to the Collector. Pushing past the fire in his side, he reached deep within himself, drawing on every last drop of power he could find. His biotics leapt forth, the field of dark energy he summoned beating down the creature's barriers and preventing them from reforming as the massive shape descended on him.

Its taloned fingers reached out, digging deep into the red metal of his armor, but even as it drew blood, Javik didn't relent, putting every ounce of his strength into this one final mission he had to complete. The creature's dark gaze fixed on him and with a roar, the last prothean lunged upwards, smashing his head into its armored face. His vision started to blur from the impact, but the mental clock he'd been keeping in his head was clear. He drew his face level, only inches away from the Collector, and as the bones of his arms began to crack under the power of its grasp, he growled out his last words.

* * *

"Long Live the Empire!"

Liara heard those words, and an instant later, everything turned to harsh light. From around the prothean, a massive explosion bloomed, filling her vision, and all she could do was throw what power she could into her barriers as every one of the biotic grenades that Javik carried exploded at once.

In spite of her best efforts, the Shadow Broker was hurled from her feet, crashing into a blood-slicked wall as her defenses lessened but did not eliminate the impact. The breath rushed out of her chest, her body going numb even as her head throbbed with the force of the crash. The asari's hands went instinctively to her stomach and she thanked the Goddess that she didn't seem to have any serious injuries there; hopefully the daughter she was carrying was unharmed.

Her vision was blurry, but as after a few blinks, she saw that both combatants were gone, little more than chunks of blood and bone and armor remaining where once the two powerful warriors had stood. Across the garden, Tali was lying flat on her back, her shotgun flung from her grasp. The quarian's face mask had been shattered by the explosion and its heat had burned a hole in her suit, exposing delicate purple flesh to the air. Forcing herself to move, Liara crawled to her friend's side, her gloves growing slick with the blood on the ground beneath her.

"Tali," she gasped, still finding her breath, "Can you hear me?"

The quarian reached up, her long fingers brushing over Liara's forehead. "You're… you're bleeding, Liara."

The Shadow Broker realized she was right, a drop of the purple liquid dripping down to land on her nose. She must have been partially in shock to have not noticed, but she was still in better shape than Tali. "I will be all right," she told her teammate, trying to sound sure of it, "But your suit…"

"Keelah," Tali groaned, seeming to become away of the extent of her own injuries, "It's bad, isn't it?"

"There is…" Liara paused, distressed by what she had to tell Tali, but needing to be honest. "There is a large hole in it."

"Medi-gel," the quarian wheezed, "And anti-biotics. In a compartment on my suit belt." Liara peeled off her bloody gloves and her fumbling fingers found the place where the drugs had been stored. Pulling them out, she gave Tali what first aid she could, these last few years having taught her more than she'd ever thought to know about treating the wounded. Tali's injuries were even worse than she'd realized, one and possibly both of her legs shattered by the explosion, and Liara wished they'd had more medi-gel left.

"Save some for yourself," Tali protested, as Liara prepared to give her some of her own to supplement the quarian's limited supply. "You have to go."

"I cannot leave you like this," Liara objected. Even treated, there was no way Tali was going anywhere. Walking, let alone fighting, was more or less out of the question.

"You have to. Find Shepard. It's the only way…" The quarian coughed, perhaps showing an early sign of some opportunistic infection. "…Only way to save us."

Liara made herself stand. Her legs were still shaky, but they worked and Tali was right. With Javik dead, Shepard was the last chance they had left to save the galaxy and Liara had to help her. Before she left though, the asari slid the shotgun back over to her friend, just in case more enemies appeared. "Hold on, Tali" she insisted as she applied the medi-gel to her head, trying to fight back the tears that were forming behind her eyes. "We will finish this." They had to. So many people had already sacrificed themselves to get this far; it could not all be in vain. Liara would not allow it.

* * *

**Wow, for a story that began as a smut shot about Shepard having a dick, I feel like this really went to a dark place. Anyway, let me know what you thought of TIM's revelation, James and Javik's deaths, and all the rest. Thanks for reading.**


	14. Chapter 14

Shepard strained until her muscles burned, but whatever the Illusive Man's implants were doing to her, she couldn't so much as speak, let alone lift her submachine gun to fire at him. All she could do was watch as the Cerberus forces engaged her team, thankful at least that the Illusive Man couldn't control more than one person at a time.

One of the Phantoms lunged at Garrus, its sword aiming at the hole in his chest plate. The turian reacted quickly considering his injuries, falling away from the stroke and activating the overload disruptor in his gauntlet. The Phantom's barriers sparked and collapsed and before she could get out of the line of fire, Miranda aimed her pistol and pumped three shots into the center of the ninja's chest, shredding her lithe form.

The operative didn't have a chance to celebrate. One of the Dragoon's whips lashed out, crashing through her barriers and impacting the arm she raised to shield her face. A bone cracked and she dropped to the ground just in time to avoid the other lash as it snapped at her head.

Ashley, meanwhile, scrambled backwards, staying just ahead of the other Phantom chasing her. Behind them, the marine could see the two Nemeses moving towards better covered vantage points in the gardens, but she couldn't worry about them just yet. The monomolecular blade crashed into the deck inches behind her and she whirled, lashing out at the Phantom with the butt of her Javelin. The ninja tumbled back gracefully, avoiding the swing, and raised her gauntlet to fire a deadly burst of energy at Ashley.

Before she could fire though, the marine tossed a grenade at her attacker. The Phantom managed to dance out of the way of the explosive, but it spoiled her shot and moreover, the Dragoon was caught by the edge of its blast radius, hurling the armored warrior through the air and away from Miranda.

He landed with a crash at the bottom of the stairs and as he tried to rise, Garrus leveled his Black Widow and put the full clip of three shots through his helmet, making sure the Cerberus soldier was dead. It was a certainty he paid dearly for. Even as the turian squeezed off the last shot, one of the Nemeses found him. A sniper round shattered what was left of his shoulder guard and pierced his body, his rifle clattering uselessly from his grasp as he fell to the ground, dark blue blood seeped out of his wound.

Watching the turian go down, Miranda forced herself to rise. The arm the Dragoon had hit was hanging uselessly from her side, doubtless broken, but the other one worked well enough. Blinking back the pain, she squeezed off two shots from her pistol. The Nemesis' shields took the brunt of the impact, but she was knocked backwards, preventing her from finishing off Garrus.

"Bloody hell," Miranda muttered as she searched her pockets for another thermal clip. These bastards shouldn't be giving them so much trouble, but their team was half-dead from the Reaper forces they'd slogged through, while their enemies were fresh. The tell-tale red light of the other Nemesis' rifle appeared on her chest and she ducked just in time to avoid the round that whizzed over her head and impacted off of the floor of the Presidium.

Off to her right, she could see Ashley still engaged with the remaining Phantom. The Spectre was hard-pressed, just barely staying ahead of the lethal sword-strokes aimed at her back while not able to get enough distance to squeeze off a clean shot with her Javelin. Suddenly, Ashley spun around and rolled down the stairs, just avoiding the latest blow, but as the Phantom followed, the ninja's body jerked backwards from a pistol shot as Miranda hit her in the chest. Exploiting the opening, Ashley leveled her rifle and quick-fired, not having enough time to scope her target. The powerful round ripped through the Phantom's body, leaving a hole the size of a tennis ball in her chest. Her sword fell from her grasp and her corpse crashed on top of the Spectre, knocking what little breath she had left out of her.

Watching the Phantom fall, a pained little smile crossed Miranda's face. Maybe they were going to get out of this alive after all. With a second's worth of breathing space, she turned her attention to her old master. The Illusive Man was still facing Shepard, his eyes narrowed with concentration as he strained to keep the powerful Spectre under his control. If she could break his hold even for a moment, maybe it would be enough for Shepard to get into the fight.

She let off a shot at the Illusive Man but it stopped short of his body, a powerful barrier of Reaper energy appearing in response. It was enough to get his attention but not to free Shepard and, turning to face Miranda, he reached into his pocket to draw a pistol. The operative gritting her teeth, preparing her biotics for a more powerful strike, but she never got to make it. Ever as the energy gathered, a sniper round struck her good shoulder and she fell onto her back, her pistol sliding from her grasp. She fumbled for the gun, but even as her fingers closed on the warm barrel, she froze. Looming above her was the Illusive Man, a harsh smile on his face as he pulled the trigger.

Ashley tossed the Phantom's corpse off of her just in time to see Miranda's body jerk as the Illusive Man fired twice into her chest, the bullets leaving bloody splatters across her already-red chest. "Son of a bitch!", she screamed, but even as she raised her rifle to the Cerberus leader, her body exploded in pain as one of the Nemeses hit her with a round that broke her shields and cracked two of her ribs. In spite of the fire in her chest, she tried to rise once more, but she got no further than her knees when she felt the hard press of metal against her head.

"Stay down, Lt. Commander." The Illusive Man's voice was filled with cold confidence and across the room, Ashley could see the other Nemesis' sniper sight fixed on Garrus. "It's over."

* * *

Joker could hardly believe what he was seeing. A moment ago, Harbinger had been in the process of tearing apart one of the turian dreadnoughts accompanying the _Normandy_ and now it was just sitting there, hovering there in space with its shields down. The pilot's mind flashed back to the Battle of the Citadel three years ago when the same thing had happened to Sovereign, and remembering how brief that window had been, he yelled over the comm, "Everyone focus on that Reaper."

The remaining ships in their fleet opened fire on Harbinger. Lances of energy and flights of missiles slammed into its side, cracking its armor and sending puffs of fire flickering into the void, but even as they pressed the attack, more trouble appeared on the sensors. Several of the smaller Reapers were coming to the aid of their brethren, one of them training its powerful laser on the _Normandy_. The pilot pulled hard on the helm, rolling the ship out of the way of the first shot and pulling a tight turn to bring her around to return fire.

"Jeff."

Even as he was targeting the Thanix canon on the Reaper, however, he was yanked out of his concentration by the sound of EDI's voice. "Not now," he yelled at the AI, "I'm a little busy trying to keep us from being vaporized."

"Jeff!", she repeated, louder than before, "Behind you!"

Joker turned his head and with no time to spare, he reacted on instinct, hurling himself out of his chair and hitting the deck just before Kelly's spanner waved through the space he'd been occupying. A spike of agony shot through the pilot as he landed, a brittle rib cracking on the hard floor of the ship. He pushed past it. That kind of pain was something he was all too familiar with and his bigger problem was the deranged yeoman with the electric spanner looming above him.

Kelly tried to circle around his chair to get a clear shot at him but Joker kicked it first, sending it spinning into her legs. She stumbled, crashing to deck next to him, and the spanner fell from her grasp and skidded across the floor. Joker lunged for the tool but the yeoman grabbed a hold of his shirt and yanked him backwards. He spun, punching her in the face but wincing as the impact cracked a bone or two in his hand.

Undeterred by her broken nose, Kelly grabbed a hold of Joker's shoulders, forcing his arms down. There was a glazed expression on her face, and when he pleaded, "Kelly, what are you doing?", she didn't even seem to hear him.

Suddenly, the ship shook as one of the Reaper's blasts struck home. The _Normandy_'s upgraded shields and armor absorbed most of the damage but the impact threw Kelly off of Joker. The yeoman's head slammed into one of the command consoles and even as she was recovering, he found the spanner. She leapt back at the pilot and he lunged out with the tool, making contact with her chest and pressing down on the power button. Her body jerked and spasmed from the electric current, and she slumped back down onto the deck, unconscious.

Gasping for breath, Joker pulled himself back into his chair. The instruments indicated the ship had taken some damage to the starboard section and the shields were down to 60%, but otherwise they were still in one piece.

"EDI," he said, "Return control of the helm to me."

"Jeff, I am detecting a number of injuries to your torso and hand. You should go and see Doctor Chakwas while I continue to pilot the _Normandy_."

"I'll be fine," he insisted. "Besides, if I let you keep flying, I'll have bigger problems than a few cracked ribs." The AI was good, but this was his baby. He'd keep her in the air if it was the last thing he did.

* * *

At the summit of the Presidium, the command console was turning bright green, glowing prothean glyphs manifesting on its surface as it interfaced with the Crucible.

"Now, Commander," the Illusive Man told her, his voice eerily calm, "You will use the Crucible to assert control over the Reapers and then release that control to me. If you do not do this, I will kill your friends. If you attempt to use the Crucible for any other purpose, I will kill you. Now, tell me that you understand."

Shepard felt the paralysis in her face release just enough for her to answer. "Kill me?", she protested, "You still need me to control the Reapers."

"And if you refuse to do that, you will be of no further use to me." He glanced down at Miranda's bloody body. Shepard couldn't tell if the operative was still alive, but if even if she was, it was a narrow thing. "And I think you know what happens to those who are no longer useful to me."

She did. This man would kill her, and Ashley, and Garrus without a second thought. And yet, as she thought of her bondmate and the daughter they were going to have, she couldn't do it. She couldn't allow they to live in a galaxy where they, and all of the other non-humans, were reduced to slaves crushed under the whims of this madman. "No," she said, quietly, but with conviction behind every syllable. "You do what you think you have to. No matter what, I won't give you that power."

"We'll see." He pressed his pistol to Ashley's head. The marine flinched slightly at the contact, but Shepard could see the steel in her dark eyes, the willingness to die if that was what it took to stop the Illusive Man. She was ready too. If he killed them, he'd have no choice but to use the Crucible to destroy the Reapers. Someone else could deal with him.

"It's a shame," he said, giving Shepard a final chance to change her mind. "She was a good soldier."

"She still is." The Illusive Man turned at the sound and his attention wavered for a split second, long enough for a massive wave of biotic energy to slam into him, denting his barriers and knocking the gun from his hand. There, standing by the elevator and enveloped in light, was Liara T'Soni.

Shepard had never been happier to see anything else in her life, but there was no time for words. The blast had disrupted the Illusive Man's control over her and as soon as she felt the strength returning to her limbs, she moved, hurling herself down the stairs at him. Her enemy raised his hand, seeking to reestablish his hold, but even as he tried to shake off the biotic attack, she was spraying him down with bullets, her submachine gun tearing through his barriers and keeping him from properly focusing.

In a blur of frantic speed, she hurled herself down the last three steps, smashing into his sternum with an armored knee. He crashed to the ground and she landed on top of her tormentor, her fist making contact with his face. Teeth spilled out of his ruined mouth but despite the damage, he reached up, grabbing the Spectre's shoulders. He had an unnatural strength, and even through her armor, she could feel the pressure as her arms were forced back.

It didn't matter. After all this time, after all the man had done and tried to do to her, the Spectre wasn't going to be deterred now. With a roar, she pressed herself forward, smashing her forehead into his face and shattering his nose. His grip on her arms loosened and she drew one of them back, her omni-blade snapping forth.

For an instant, their eyes locked and in his strange, blue gaze, she saw nothing human. No fear, no regret, not even any pain, and she realized that whatever he'd once been, the unholy combination of Reaper technology and his obsessions had consumed his soul. Without further hesitation, she struck. A single, swift blow from her omni-blade punctured his neck and almost instantly, the light went out of his eyes.

She looked up to see where the Nemeses were, but the rest of the battle was already over. Liara had trapped one of the two snipers in a stasis field and was in the process of shooting her with her pistol, while Ashley had picked off the other one with her Javelin.

As soon as her target fell, Liara was racing towards Shepard, and the Spectre pulled herself back up to her feet to meet her. The asari was clearly injured, running with a limp, blood marring her lovely blue features, but she threw her arms around Shepard as they came together, kissing her face with a desperate energy.

"Thank god you're okay," Shepard whispered to her lover, "When you didn't show up to the rendezvous point, I was so scared."

"I am fine," Liara told her, tears forming in her eyes. "But Shepard, the rest of the team, they… I'm so sorry. Tali was badly injured and Javik and James are dead. You will have to be the one to operate the Crucible."

Reluctantly, she pulled away from Liara. Every moment she didn't activate it, more people were dying and that had to come before her joy and her grief. Of course, she knew now that any of them could use the Crucible, but there was no time to explain that to Liara. Besides, she had been the one who had first discovered the threat of the Reapers on Eden Prime and the one who had led the fight against them these last few brutal years. It felt right that she be the one to finish it.

Her muscles ached as she walked up to the podium, still sore from whatever the Illusive Man had done to them, but she was all right. She could do what she had to, unlike the bloody, battered members of her team lying on the floor of the Presidium, and as she made her way towards the controls, she told her bondmate, "Liara, I don't know how long this will take. Please, look after the others."

As the asari hurried to tend to her wounded teammates, Shepard reached the top of the stairs. The Spectre took hold of the glowing console and as she touched it, a familiar connection opened between the device and her mind . Without words she knew how to use it, and without hesitation, she made her choice, the only choice she could make to end this nightmare once and for all.

* * *

**Whew, that was a lot of action to write. I hope you found it appropriately tense. Only 2 or 3 chapters left to go in this one, but there's still plenty to cover and lots of final fates to reveal. (Plus more smut, naturally) Hope you're still enjoying it.**


	15. Chapter 15

Miranda was dying. Indeed, after taking multiple gunshots to the chest at point-blank range on top of her other injuries, what surprised Liara wasn't the operative's imminent death, but that she'd stayed alive as long as she had. Still, even the combination of her genetically augmented physiology and indomitable willpower were failing, and when the Shadow Broker looked into her eyes, she could see that Miranda knew it too.

"Liara…" With every word she forced out, flecks of blood spilled from Miranda's cracked lips, but she pressed on, determined not to leave this unsaid. "I'm sorry…", she told her, the apology coming easier than she thought it would have, "About all of it… The things I did to you two…"

Looking at the dying woman lying beneath her, there were plenty of reasons for the Shadow Broker to hold on to her hate. Miranda had twisted Shepard's body, repeatedly tried to seduce her, and kidnapped Liara… For the Goddess' sake, she had tried to kill the asari back on Mars. And yet, she had also saved Liara on Hendril, and now she had given her life to help save the galaxy. Reasons enough, she decided, to let go.

"It is all right," she said softly, brushing back a strand of the operative's bloody hair. "It's over now."

Above them, the green light surrounding the command console was shifting and changing, a hum of energy filling the air as the Crucible powered up. "She really did it…" Miranda whispered, her voice beginning to fail her.

"Yes, she did," Liara agreed before adding. "We all did." Goddesses only knew how, but it seemed they had come through and Miranda was entitled to her share of the credit.

"Oriana."

"Do not worry," Liara reassured her. "I will make sure she's safe."

"Tell her…" Miranda coughed up more blood before slumping down on the ground, unable to find the strength to finish her thought, but Liara could guess what she wanted to say.

"I will tell her that she had a sister who loved her, and who died to make sure that she was safe," she promised. Liara wasn't sure how much Miranda had heard. The operative's eyes were closed now and her chest was at last still, but there was a smile on her face, so Liara supposed that it had been enough.

Rising, the Shadow Broker looked over to her friends. Both of them were in better shape than Miranda, especially Ashley. The Spectre had some cracked ribs to go with a collection of cuts and scrapes, but she was still up and about, helping to see to Garrus. The turian was more seriously injured, with his burns and shattered shoulder, but medi-gel had stabilized his condition and even brought him back around.

As the hum of the Crucible grew louder, Garrus let out a pained chortle. "Guess it… actually worked," he quipped, "Don't have to get… refund from the protheans after all."

"Don't be so sure," Ashley told him, not quite ready to celebrate. "We still don't know what it's going to do."

* * *

Samantha Traynor pulled herself to her feet, her chest still filled with a stinging ache that had now spread throughout her limbs "Bloody hell," she muttered as she tried to make her legs perform their intended function. "EDI, where's Kelly Chambers and what is she doing?"

"Former Yeoman Chambers is in the _Normandy_'s cockpit," came back the cool reply. "She is currently unconscious."

Sam blinked, still trying to clear her head from the shock. Deciding she had better take a closer took, the specialist staggered her way towards the front of the ship. Just as EDI said, Kelly was sprawled out on the floor of the cockpit while Joker remained at the helm. What drew Samantha's attention though was the view out of the windows. Below them sprawled the Citadel and atop the massive Crucible docked with it, energy was gathering.

"The Crucible is active," EDI informed them somewhat unnecessarily.

"Yeah, but what's it going to do?", Joker asked, seemingly oblivious to the specialist's presence.

They didn't have long to wait for their answer. Massive spikes of energy sprang forth from the Crucible, striking several of the Reapers they had been battling, ripping the massive ships apart as if they were toys. From there, the blasts jumped, shredding more and more Reapers while leaving the rest of the fleet untouched. One by one, the titans died, and even as they did, the Crucible pulsed again, sending the largest beam of energy yet into the Mass Relay and from there, out to the rest of the galaxy.

Sam could only watch in awe as the Reapers fell, these seemingly unstoppable monsters cut down in a single, mighty stroke by the weapon they had spent months devoting most of their energies to building and deploying. Overwhelmed by emotion, she threw her arms around Joker. "We're going to win!", she cried out, tears streaming down her face. "We're really going to win!"

The pilot winced at her embrace. "Ouch! Watch the ribs!"

She let Joker go, her face falling. "Sorry, I got carried away."

"It's all right," he told her, laughing in spite of the throbbing in his side. "I think we're all due for a little celebration right now."

* * *

Shepard stepped away from the pedestal, the prothean interface fading from her mind as she let go of the control mechanism. Below her, Ashley was patching up Garrus, and Liara was kneeling above the still form of Miranda. "It's done," she told them. "How's everybody else?"

Garrus shrugged his good shoulder and said, "I'm all right," though given the bloody mess that had been made of his other one, the Spectre wasn't entirely convinced by his claim.

"Miranda is gone," Liara informed her softly, with more regret in her voice than Shepard would have expected to find there.

The commander shook her head. Once, hearing that Miranda had died would have brightened her day, but now, she wasn't quite sure how to feel either. "Can we get a message through to the fleet?", she asked, pushing the thought aside for the moment.

Ashley opened her omni-tool and punched in a command. "I think so. Whatever was messing up our transmissions seems to have cleared up." She paused for a moment, checking the data feeds. "It worked." She was choking up as she said the words, staggered by the magnitude of the news she had to deliver. "The Crucible worked. The Reapers are destroyed."

Liara came to her feet, stumbling into the Spectre's arms. "Goddess," she said softly, tears of relief on her lovely face. "We made it."

Shepard just nodded and placed a kiss on the side of her lover's crest, too overwhelmed by the moment to find any more words even as she heard Liara say, "Call the fleet. Tell them we will require extraction, and make sure they send medical personnel to the area below the east elevator as well. Tali is there."

The reminder of her friend's danger brought back Shepard voice. "Ash," she said wearily. "You stay here with Garrus. I'm going to go to Tali."

"I will come with you," Liara told her, putting an arm around the Spectre for support. Her leg still hurt, but she was not going to be parted from her bondmate again today, and though there was nothing more she could do for Tali until real medical assistance arrived, they could at least let her know what had happened. She deserved far more than that, but it was all Liara had to give right then.

* * *

As the shuttle brought them back to the _Normandy_, Shepard was quiet. Tali had been unconscious when they found her, and now the quarian was on a separate transport, barely alive and en route to a dedicated medical frigate. Shepard was reluctant to leave her side, but with the carnage of the battle, space there had to be reserved for the most serious cases. The rest of the team was going to be looked after on their own ship, even Garrus, who was currently sleeping under the influence of the powerful painkillers the medics had given him.

Liara had been trying to give her bondmate space, but Shepard's silence worried her, and closing her omni-tool, she reached out, placing a hand on the commander's knee. "Are you all right?", she asked quietly. "You have said little since the rescue crews found us."

The Spectre shrugged. "I guess I am. I just always imagined I'd be happier when this day came, but it's hard to know what to feel right now. It's all too much."

"I understand," the Shadow Broker said gently, "But I still think you should know that we have started receiving reports from across the rest of the galaxy. The Crucible destroyed all the Reapers, not just those in this system. The Mass Relays themselves are temporarily inactive for anything more energy-intensive than communication due to the power they expended, but the technicians believe they should recover in a few weeks." She smiled at her beloved. "It really is over."

Shepard managed a tired smile in return. She'd known what the Crucible was supposed to do from the time she'd spent interfaced with it, but it was still a relief to hear that it had worked as intended. "I'm glad," she told the asari, "But still… There's just been so much death." She thought of James and Javik, Miranda and Thane, Mordin and Kaiden, to saying nothing of the billions more she didn't know, the countless lives on Earth, and Thessia, and Palaven, and elsewhere that had been lost to the Reapers. "How can things go back to the way they used to be?", she asked. "How can anyone have a normal life after all of this carnage?"

Liara leaned over and kissed her softly on a freckled cheek. "Allow me to share a little professional wisdom with you."

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "The Shadow Broker has files on healing after a galactic war?"

"No." Liara shook her head. "From my real profession. I have spent most of my life studying the past, and while nothing on this scale has ever happened before, countless nations, and cultures, and even worlds have suffered unimaginable losses. They go on, Shepard. They mourn, and they build monuments to the dead, and they name streets after their heroes, and children after the people they have lost, but they go on. We will as well."

Shepard swallowed back a tear as she saw the love and compassion in Liara's beautiful blue eyes. "We will." Suddenly, a thought seized her and she put a protective hand on her bondmate's stomach. "Our daughter, Liara, is she going to be okay after everything you went through?"

"She is." There was a calm certainty in the archeologist's voice that settled Shepard back down. "I think I would be able to tell if something was wrong. Asari pregnancies are resilient, probably because they are so uncommon and so lengthy."

Brushing her eyes dry, Shepard gave her a wry smile. "How lengthy?"

"A year and a half. Sometimes longer."

Shepard's smile broadened as she made her peace with that concept. "It's okay," she told her bondmate. "We have the time."

* * *

Ashley was the last to disembark from the shuttle and when she did, she was immediately set upon by a very enthusiastic Specialist Traynor. Her girlfriend threw her arms around the Spectre, kissing her hard and deep. "Hey," Ashley told her when they slowly pulled apart, "I'm okay, Sam. Try to go easy on the chest though. I cracked a couple of ribs over there on the Citadel."

"Oh, geez," Sam apologized, loosening her grip and feeling particularly stupid given that she'd made the same mistake with Joker only hours earlier. "I've got to stop doing that."

"Don't worry about it," Ashley smiled. Just then, she noticed the burn mark on her girlfriend's uniform. "Looks like you had a bit of an adventure here too. What did you do? Something dashing, I bet."

Sam blushed, her dark skin turning a completely adorable shade of red. "It really wasn't very heroic," she admitted. "I just got shocked by a crazy yeoman."

Ashley gave her a confused look and Sam explained, "Kelly Chambers turned out to be indoctrinated. She ambushed me with a spanner during the battle."

"What happened to her?"

"Joker stopped her."

"Joker?" Ashley grinned. "I'll have to buy him a beer."

"I imagine there'll be a lot celebrations now. I mean, we did just win the biggest war in history."

The specialist kissed Ashley again, a longer, slower kiss that left a warm, tingly feeling spreading throughout the Spectre's body in spite of her injuries. Sam felt so right in her arms that all of the days' hurts just seemed to be melting away.

The kiss finally broke and Ashley's smile took on a devilish contour. "You know, speaking of us winning the war…" A part of her felt wrong thinking about sex at a time like this. After all, Tali was still in critical condition, James was dead, and countless others were too. And yet, she and Sam had survived what her lover rightly called the biggest war in history, and the sheer exuberance of that swept aside her doubts. "I believe you promised me that if I came back alive, you'd be up for anything I wanted."

"I did," Sam agreed, but as she looked up and down at Ashley's battered form, she added, "And I will be when you're feeling better. I don't think it would look good to have the second human Spectre pass out from internal bleeding in my bed. Now come on. Let's go get you to Doctor Chakwas."

"Fine, fine," Ashley agreed with a mock frown. She wasn't really in any shape to fuck, but just the idea was pleasant. "I would point out one thing," she added as they made their way to the elevator together.

"What's that?"

"You don't actually have a bed. Just a cot in the enlisted women's rack."

"I'll get one," Sam laughed, an uncontrollable giddiness gripping her at the thought. She could do that now: buy a bed, fuck Ashley in it, or do anything else she wanted with the rest of her life, a life she was actually going to get to live.

* * *

**So, what did people think of Miranda's death and all the rest? I tried to balance people's euphoria and grief in their reactions, which was tricky. Regardless, there's only two chapters still to go. An epic amount of "We didn't die" smut next, then an epilogue. Thanks as always for reading.**


	16. Chapter 16

"Thank you for the update on her condition, doctor. Let me know if anything changes."

"Of course commander."

Shepard ended the call and stood up from her terminal. As she stretched her limbs, she was pleased by the relative lack of pain. Though there was still soreness from the battle of the previous day, the wonders of modern medicine and Cerberus implants had eased it substantially. She was lucky, she reflected. So many were still gravely injured if not worse, and simple health felt like a luxury.

Behind her, the door opened and the commander turned to see her bondmate standing in the entrance. Liara looked much better than she had the last time Shepard saw her, rested and showered, wearing fresh clothes and with her wounds well-treated.

"Shepard," she said warmly, stepping in and pressing a kiss on the commander's lips. "It's so good to see you. There has been so little time since we got back. Do you have any word on Tali's condition."

"I just got off the line with her doctors," she told the asari. "It looks like she's going to make it."

Liara let out a small sigh of relief at the news. Leaving her friend behind to find Shepard had been horrible, and she was immensely grateful that Tali's final moments were not going to have been in that awful place. "That is wonderful news, love."

"It is, but…" Shepard hesitated, not as happy as Liara hoped she would be. "Between her wounds and the infection, it'll be weeks before she's out of the hospital and even longer before she's back to normal. But I guess under the circumstances, it still counts as lucky "

"Well, if she needs anything, have her doctors get in touch with me. The war has made a mess of my networks, but I should still have enough resources to help one friend."

Shepard nodded. "I'll let them know to call."

"Shepard." Hearing the fatigue in her Spectre's voice, Liara reached out, running an affectionate hand through her red hair while carefully avoiding the small cut beneath it. "You need to take a break. The war is over. I know there is still a great deal of chaos, but let yourself relax for a little while." She smiled. "Perhaps I can help."

Relaxed wasn't exactly what the Spectre felt as her bondmate shrugged out of her coat, revealing a small black top that exposed her shoulders along with just a hint of her smooth midriff. There was a warm gleam in her bright, blue eyes, and as the commander looked into them, it was as if she could see the peace she had been fighting for so long to win, the promise of a real future with the woman she loved.

"We really made it," she said breathlessly, running her hand along the curves of the asari's chest. "You're really still here."

"I am," Liara promised her, "For as long as we live, I will be here for you."

"A lifetime together…" She pulled the asari closer to her, Liara throwing her arms around her neck as she moved into her commander's embrace. "I love you so much, sweetheart," she whispered, holding her bondmate against her body. Already, she could feel herself getting swept away. The scent, the feel, the touch of her beautiful archeologist had always had an incredible effect on her, and now, she felt herself being overwhelmed by it.

"I need you to show me," she breathed, heat filling her body. "I need you to remind me we're still alive." She could remember with terrible clarity what a skittish, needy mess she'd been when Liara came back to her, right here in this cabin. Her lover had taken all of that pain away, and Shepard needed that comfort again, not to ease her anguish over her body now, but over all of the losses they'd suffered.

Even as the memories of that night made her cock begin to stiffen, she led her lover towards the bed. Her strong hands pulled up the archeologist's top, cupping her full breasts, and when a thumb brushed over one of Liara's hardening nipples, the asari moaned, yanking open the commander's uniform shirt and throwing it on the floor in her enthusiasm.

Shepard laid Liara down on the bed, and looking up at her bondmate, the asari licked her lips in anticipation. She could see how hard the Spectre was, her erection outlined clearly against her pants, and she reached up to remove them, leaving Shepard clad only in her black boxers. As the commander held her breath, Liara reached inside, wrapping her hand around the hot flesh she found there.

Her bondmate growled, as turned on as Liara had seen her in a long time, and the asari began pumping her shaft, eager to help her. The pad of Liara's thumb brushed over the swollen head, running through the first drops of wetness that were already gathering there, and as Shepard looked into her beloved's eyes, her patience collapsed.

Forcing herself to move out of Liara's grasp, she dove onto the bed next to the asari and deftly unbuttoned and removed her pants. Beneath them, there were still bruises on Liara's legs, but the commander paid them no mind, more focused on the lacy pair of dark blue panties covering her beloved's azure.

"God, you're wet for me," she marveled, feeling the fabric becoming damp as she ran her fingers over it, pressing down when she felt the hard bud of her lover's clit beneath the lace.

"Just for you," Liara panted, desperate for more contact. Shepard's hunger was infectious, and as the lace was pushed aside and a finger slid into her slick sex, Liara clutched at her bondmate's shoulders through the fabric of her uniform. One of them was still sore where a Cannibal's shot had hit her armor, but Shepard didn't even notice, too turned on to worry about a little pain.

The asari's hips began to buck against her thrusts, and Shepard added a second finger, loving the feeling of Liara's azure squeezing around her. Her cock was hard as steel at the thought of being inside her bondmate, and with one hand, she drew it out of her boxers, stroking it slowly as she took care of her lover. The disgust she had once felt at the sight of the throbbing length was gone. All she could feel now was desire and an intense thrill of anticipation.

"Liara," she breathed, her thumb rubbing over the asari's swollen clit even as her fingers pressed against her inner walls, "The things you do to me, that you make me want… I never could've imagined…"

The archeologist threw her head back, letting out a little gasp of pleasure, and the sound was nearly too much for Shepard. The beginnings of a climax bloomed inside her, and a spurt of wetness came from the head of her cock, leaving a trail of sticky liquid on the asari's belly. The sight of her come on her bondmate's beautiful skin was almost sexier than she could bear, and it was all Shepard could do not to explode completely right then and there.

"I need to fuck you," she panted, her voice ragged with need, and Liara responded by spreading her legs further, inviting her in. The Spectre withdrew her wet fingers and, using them to keep the panties from sliding back over her prize, lined the head of her cock up with her bondmate's entrance.

Liara let out a whimper at the touch of the wet tip against her opening, and Shepard pushed into her, unable to wait any longer. She was too hot to hold back for long, and it felt as the asari was trying to draw her climax out of her, her azure's inner walls pulling on her needy length as it filled her. Putting her hands on the asari's hips, she began to pump into her fast and hard.

Liara could feel how desperately Shepard needed this. She'd carried so much weight for all of them and the feeling of her letting go of it at last made the archeologist happier than she could say. "Goddess," she gasped, "I love feeling you get close inside me."

Wanting Liara to come with her, she slid one hand between them, letting her thumb rest on her bondmate's hard clit. Each of her thrusts generated delicious pressure on the bud, and the asari covered her face in kisses, her hands running over the taut muscles of her back as she reveled in the power of the Spectre's lovemaking. Shepard was so close to the edge she could taste it. Her other hand stroked the asari's clit one last time, and as Liara cried out and her azure tightened around her, the commander let go. Going as deeply as she could, she let out a blissful sigh of relief as thick streams of her fluid poured into the beautiful asari.

The feeling of Shepard stiffening inside her was all Liara needed, her azure rippling around her commander as her mind filled with bliss. Her bondmate looked so beautiful as she came, an expression of total joy on her lovely face as she gazed down at Liara. The asari wanted so much to join with her, to share her love on the deepest level she knew, and she only held back in the sure knowledge that Shepard had more to give her.

She wasn't wrong. Even as the tremors of her first climax were passing, Shepard's erection remained as stiff as ever. No one had ever turned her on the way Liara did, and the thought that she could spend the rest of her life making love to the gorgeous asari beneath her made the Spectre happier than she could express.

Reluctantly, she pulled out, and as her bondmate let out a little moan of disappointment, Shepard rolled her over, wrapping an arms around the woman she loved to cup her breasts while the other pulled off her soaked panties. The commander's rigid cock nestled between Liara bare buttocks, their softness exquisite against her sensitive skin, and she slid it back and forth, leaving a sticky trail along her lover's ass.

"More, please," the asari implored her and Shepard slid her hips down, letting her shaft run over Liara's dripping entrance, the head teasing her clit. The lubrication of their orgasms greased her movements, and her bondmate trembled at the contact on her sensitive bud, still trembling from her climax. Her hand reached back, gripping the commander's leg, and Shepard could feel the pressure of Liara's thoughts against her own, desperate for their union.

The Spectre angled her hips, sliding back inside her bondmate even as she let her into her mind. The power of their joining filled her, their longing, desire, and joy in each other as strong as she could remember. The entwining of their bodies mixed with that of their minds, and as she started thrusting into Liara once more, the sense of fullness and pleasure the asari was feeling came back to her, all the stronger for being shared.

She nuzzled her face against the back of Liara's crest, kissing the sensitive tips as she fucked her bondmate, enjoying the way she shivered with pleasure at each touch of her lips. A hand reached down between their legs, and soft fingers ran up her shaft, stroking it each time it emerged from Liara's azure before rubbing the asari's hard clit when she would bury herself back into that clinging warmth.

"Jesus, sweetheart," she sent across the bond, "Don't stop doing that." The rhythm of her lover's hand was perfect, the light touch combining with the more intense pleasure of their lovemaking into a single, incredible sensation.

"I didn't indeed to," came the response and behind it, she could feel deep desire, the craving Liara felt to make her come inside her once again, to share that bliss with her.

Just knowing how much her bondmate wanted it brought Shepard closer to another climax, and she drove harder, clutching Liara's sweaty body against her own. The asari's back, still clad in her tank-top, pressed against her breasts, and the commander's hand gripped her hip, letting her thrust deeper. The combined pleasure was too intense for them to even form words now, their raw emotions of love, lust, and need flowing freely back and forth between them. Shepard was coming undone again, but as she rolled a rigid blue nipple between her fingers, Liara rushed ahead of her, her hips pressing back into the commander's groin as her release coated her cock. Shepard crashed after her, the warmth spreading from the asari's mind filling her entire body even as she filled Liara once more, her come spurting over and over again into the asari's well-fucked azure.

Across the bond, their climax felt endless, a sea of sensation that stretched out into forever, and even after it faded, Shepard remained buried inside her bondmate for some time. Neither of them spoke, instead simply enjoying the blissful afterglow as the meld slowly slipped apart. All of the burdens the Spectre had been carrying felt like they were gone now, dissolved by their lovemaking, and she just wanted to live in that moment as long as possible. Only slowly did she let her softening cock slipping out of her beloved, slumping down on the bed as her fluids dripped onto the asari's thighs. Liara's eyes were lidded, sleepy after her exertions, and Shepard pulled off the last remnants of her bondmate's clothes for her, tossing her tank-top on the cabin floor.

"I really was in a hurry, wasn't I?", she laughed, nuzzling up against Liara's warm, blue body.

"I didn't mind," the archeologist purred, rolling over enough to run her fingers through the commander's mussed red hair. "I love your enthusiasm."

"You bring it out in me," she sighed.

"I can tell," Liara said, playfully stroking the damp length of her lover's cock. "Which reminds me, have you decided if you're going to keep this thing?"

"What do you mean?", Shepard asked, too tired for more sex but enjoying the touch of Liara's fingers on her sensitive skin.

"Now that the war is over," she explained, "I imagine I could find doctors to reverse what Cerberus did to you. The surgery would be a bit complicated to be sure, but it should be possible." She paused. "That is, if you wanted me to."

"Well," Shepard said with a little laugh, "It would be a lot of work. And I feel like you've gotten to enjoy my dick."

Liara gave her an innocent grin. "It is sweet of you to worry about me, love, but I take pleasure in your body, whatever shape it is in. This is your decision. What do you want?"

Once, the commander wouldn't have hesitated to say that she wanted everything put back the way it had been before she died. When she first woke up on the Lazarus Station, the cock Cerberus had given her had felt like an alien imposition and all she wanted was to be rid of it.

Something had changed. Perhaps whatever alterations Cerberus had made as part of her rebirth had eventually caused her self-image to align with her body's current state. Maybe all of the times she'd melded with Liara had helped her to see her new shape the way her bondmate did, as beautiful and desirable. Definitely, the pleasures they had shared had made her appreciate the benefits of her cock. Whatever the combination though, she realized that she was happy with things as they were, and she reached out to Liara, drawing her lover's lips to hers for a slow, sensuous kiss.

She let it last a good, long time, their tongues caressing each other as their hands stroked their sweaty bodies, but when it finally ended, she gave her answer. "I think," the commander told the woman who had saved both her life and her sanity, "That I'm fine just the way I am."

"You certainly are that," Liara agreed, giving her bondmate a small follow-up kiss. Though she'd been telling the truth that she would be happy no matter what Shepard decided, in the blissful aftermath of their lovemaking, it was hard for her to complain about the promise of more of that particular pleasure. Besides, she took a certain pride in Shepard's choice. She had been a shy, virgin scientist when she met her commander three years ago, and to have been able to change her mind like that was quite the compliment.

* * *

**So, I was mistaken last chapter when I said this would be done in 2 more. The Shepard/Liara scene went on long enough that Ash and Sam will need their own chapter, plus 1 more for the epilogue. I hope you don't mind; after all, I did promise and epic amount of "We're not dead" smut. ;-) Anyway, I hope you liked it and Shepard's choice to stay the way she is. Thanks for reading.**


	17. Chapter 17

Ashley had scarcely made it out of the _Normandy_'s med-bay when she was intercepted by Samantha Traynor, the specialist stopping her with the anxious question, "So what'd the doctor say?" Not that Ashley was complaining about her concern. It had been too long since she'd had someone special in her life, and Sam, well, she had a way of making the marine feel very special indeed.

"I got a clean bill of health," she told her girlfriend, leaning in to accept the enthusiastic kiss that Samantha offered by way of congratulations.

"That's great news."

"I need to go easy on the ribs for a few days, and get enough sleep, but otherwise, I'll be fine." She shook her head. "It doesn't feel fair. I mean, Tali's going to be out of commission for weeks, and she's the lucky one. What was left of James' body… The rescue crew didn't even recognize him at first."

"I'm sorry," Sam told her. In the first flush of excitement over their victory, she hadn't thought about its full costs, but she'd been getting a tough lesson since then. "I know you guys were friends."

Ashley nodded. She appreciated the sympathy, but right now, she didn't really want to talk about it. "You know what the weird thing is?", she asked, changing the subject. "All this death, and Kelly's going to be just fine."

"Really?", Sam asked skeptically, her affection for the bubbly yeoman having cooled somewhat after being electrocuted by her.

"Yup. I saw her while was I was in med-bay. The doc's keeping her a while longer for observation, but since the Reapers were destroyed, all the indoctrinated people seem to have gone back to normal."

"Back to normal…" Sam got a distant look in her big, brown eyes.

Ashley saw her distraction and squeezed her hand comfortingly as they walked through the corridors of the ship towards the Spectre's quarters. "What's wrong, babe?", she asked. "I said she's going to be okay."

"I heard you. It's just… normal… I don't know." Ashley looked confused and the specialist tried to explain. "When all of this craziness started, the only thing I wanted was to have normal back. I was so far out of my depth, being on a warship, fighting against the end of the world and I was absolutely terrified." Ashley opened the door, leading the specialist into her room as Sam asked, "You know what the first thing that made me feel like I might be all right was?"

She shook her head. "No. Was it Shepard?"

"It was you. That first morning after the attack on Earth, you came down to the grunt's barracks and kicked all our asses into gear. I found it very reassuring."

"Reassuring?" That hadn't exactly been what Ashley had had in mind at the time, but she was glad to hear it.

"Yeah. Even after everything that had happened, you were keeping your head and expecting us to do the same." She paused for a moment, licking her lips before adding mischievously. "Plus, you had a really great ass, and that helped to take my mind off the possibility that we were all going to die."

Ashley laughed. She loved the way Sam could switch back and forth between sweet and raunchy so fast. "Well, I'm just glad me and my ass could help you out."

Samantha grinned. "You two really did. But what I wanted to say to you was this: you took the most screwed-up time in my life and made it bearable, and as much as I want things to go back to normal, I want to stay with you more. I don't know what that's going to mean exactly, but I felt like I should say it."

The marine took a breath. "I'm not quite sure what to say, Sam. I haven't really gotten a chance to think about what the future holds for any of us. But yeah… I want to figure out a way to stay close to you too."

The specialist's grin broadened and she closed the door behind them. "God, you don't know how happy I am to hear that," she told the Spectre, wrapping her arms around her neck.

"Let me guess," Ashley laughed, "Now you want to show me exactly how happy you are?"

Sam put on a little fake pout. "I see you've figured out all my moves."

"Hey," Ashley reassured her, "I didn't say I was complaining."

"Good," Sam smirked, "Because I recall promising to fuck your brains out." She paused, making sure her libido wasn't getting ahead of her. "At least, if you're feeling up to it."

"I could be," she replied, returning the specialist's mischievous grin, "If you are."

Sam didn't need to be told twice. Her eager fingers went to the buttons of Ashley's uniform shirt, opening it up to reveal the smooth skin beneath. There were still bruises there, fading thanks to Doctor Chakwas' skilled care, but present none the less and Sam hesitated to go further. "Are you sure about this?", she asked. "There'll be time later if you're still hurt."

"I'm okay, really," Ashley reassured her lover. Sam wasn't a soldier, and she tended to get more upset than she needed to be over what Ashley would consider minor injuries. Still, the Spectre found her concern sweet, and she gave her a lingering kiss, trying to show her with her passion that she was well enough for this.

Deciding to take "yes," for an answer, Samantha unhooked Ashley's bra and tossed it and her shirt on the floor before bending down to take a firm breast in her mouth. She covered the soft skin in kisses before sucking a nipple in-between her full lips. Ashley sighed sharply and staggered backwards towards the bed, her girlfriend displaying remarkable dexterity in not stopping her ministrations even as she sat down in the Spectre's lap.

With her free hand, she stroked Ashley's back, enjoying the arch in the spine as she nipped and sucked at her breasts. Once, when she passed over a spot on her side, Ashley withdrew slightly, but when Sam tried to pull back, the marine stopped her.

"Don't worry, just be careful there."

Sam nodded, and Ashley lay the rest of the way down on the bed while her lover moved on to her pants and boots. Her legs looked to be in their usual excellent condition, toned and strong, without the injuries that marked her torso, and Sam moved so that she could kiss her way back up them.

At the touch of her lover's mouth on her skin, Ashley gasped, warmth pooling in her core even as Sam made her way ever closer to it. After so much stress, being able lie back and be taken care of was exactly what she needed, and Sam was so very good at doing just that. Her kisses reached Ashley's inner thighs, and as the specialist licked the sensitive flesh there, she could see a wet spot forming on Ashley's grey panties. With two fingers, she started to caress her lover's clothed sex and when the marine's hips rocked shamelessly into her touch, Sam could feel her own body reacting, her clit throbbing against her underwear at the reactions she was eliciting.

With a burst of enthusiasm, Sam yanked off Ash's underwear and ran her tongue over the slick flesh beneath it. Ashley reached down, tangling her fingers in the specialist's short, dark hair, and Sam slipped her tongue inside her lover, taking in her rich, musky flavor before moving up to her clit. She'd only intended to get Ashley ready for the strap-on, but given the short, eager gasps of breath coming from the marine, she decided to finish what she'd started first.

She slid two fingers inside Ashley, loosening the marine up for later, while her mouth went to work on her clit. She teased the little bud out from between its folds, licking up and down its length with steady strokes that she tried to keep in rhythm with her hand's thrusts. Above her, she saw Ashley suck on her own fingers and then roll a nipple between her wet digits, and the sight of her touching herself like that was enough to make Sam feel as if the temperature had gone up twenty degrees. The Spectre was the hottest woman she'd even been with, and watching the effect she had on her was practically enough to make her come in her pants even without any physical stimulation.

Eager to feel her lover's pleasure, Sam sped up her pace, her tongue vibrating over Ash's clit. Her hips pushed back against her every thrust, and when the specialist pressed her fingers on the right spot inside her lover's pussy, she felt Ashley's legs tightening around her head. She responded by thrusting harder and when she gave Ashley's clit one final suckle, she got what she wanted, the Spectre's warm fluids coating her hand as she released around her.

Sam took a moment to enjoy Ashley's climactic moans, giving her a few final strokes with her fingers to make sure she was satisfied, but she was too turned on to wait any longer than that. Springing up, she went over to the small dresser and pulled out the dark, thick sex toy that she'd spent a small fortune on, setting it down on the bed. She realized that since they'd survived, she'd have to make the payments on it, but as Ashley gave her a sultry look with those dark eyes of hers, she couldn't bring herself to care. "Just lay back," she told the marine, "I'll take care of everything."

Ashley was in no mood to argue, and as she watched, Sam started to strip for her. The specialist began with her shoes and socks, before moving on to her shirt, undoing one button after another with a sensuous grace that was enough to send a fresh pulse of arousal to Ashley's clit. She loved the specialist's body, pretty and soft, with those wonderful, pillow-y tits and as Sam's lacy bra joined her shirt in the growing pile of clothing, the marine ached to touch them once again.

Still, that show was nothing compared to what happened when Sam moved on to her pants. The specialist shimmed out of them with a seductive shake of her hips before slipping off her little black panties. Even from the bed, Ashley could see the moisture glistening on the shaved lips of her pussy, and when Sam dropped two fingers down to glide back and forth over them, the Spectre nearly swallowed her tongue.

"Look how wet I get," the specialist purred, "Just from tasting you." Ashley gasped, and Sam slid two well-manicured fingers inside herself, making sure she was wet enough to put in the toy. A few quick strokes confirmed that her body was as ready as her brain, and pulling out, she replaced her digits with the short end of the cock. It slid past her entrance easily and after she activated the sensory transmitter at its base, she ran her hand up and down the shaft a few times to get a feel for the thing. In spite of her wealth of Sapphic experience, she'd only gotten a chance to wear one of these a few times before, when she'd had a brief but memorable affair with a wealthy sorority girl in college, and the feel of her touch on a fake appendage was still a bit unusual to her.

Watching Sam stroking her faux cock, Ashley's patience broke. "Please," she implored the specialist, "Go on and fuck me."

The need in Ashley's voice triggered something in Sam, and with what under other circumstances might have been considered an unseemly haste, she hurried back to bed. Lying down on top of the Spectre, she started lining up her hips with Ashley's entrance even as her lover pulled their lips together for an intense kiss. Her tongue pushed into Sam's mouth, and one hand cupped a full breast while the other grabbed her ass, trying to coax her into her pussy.

Sam didn't need more encouragement, and as soon as she had the angle right, she slid into Ashley, the thick shaft filling up the soaking wet Spectre in a single stroke. Ashley moaned at the penetration and as the toy transmitted the tightness of her pussy into pressure on Sam's clit, the specialist was hit by a sudden, unexpected climax. Her inner muscles clenched around the end of the toy inside her and her hips pushed as deeply as she could into Ashley, trying to get as much of the marine as she could while little jolts of ecstasy ran through her body.

Ashley held Sam close, enjoying the feel of her lover inside her as well as the breathless gasps she was making and unconsciously, the Spectre started rocking her hips against the thick shaft inside her. Even as the last shudders of her climax were still filling her body, Sam had already started to thrust. The look in Ashley's eyes was completely irresistible. She could see how badly this incredible warrior woman wanted her, and she couldn't imagine denying her anything.

Once her orgasm faded, she was able to set up a steadier pace, making long strokes inside Ashley as the Spectre's hands massaged her soft ass, urging her deeper inside. She buried her face in Ashley's tits, kissing her body as she tried to keep herself together. The quick, sharp climax she already had wasn't enough to satisfy her, but she was slightly embarrassed at having come so fast, and she was determined that her girlfriend would be the next one to climax.

After a few minutes though, she realized she'd better take further measures if she wanted to keep her promise to herself. Ashley felt so good around her, and the frantic pace she was setting was rapidly pushing the specialist towards another climax sooner than she wanted. With her free hand, she reached down between their thrusting bodies, sliding it through Ash's dark nether hair as she sought out the Spectre's clit.

"Goddamn it, baby," Ashley demanded, her fingers tightening around her lover's ass as Sam rubbed her bud, "Don't stop." The specialist might not have been the most forceful lover she'd ever had, but she was probably the most skillful, knowing better than any guy all the spots that Ashley wanted her thrusts to hit. Sam flicked her tongue over one of the marine's pink nipples, and as a bolt of pleasure ran straight down from her chest to her core, Ashley could feel herself losing control. "Yes," she growled, "Do it. Fuck me with that cock, fuck me…" Her words trailed off as Sam's thumb pressed hard against her clit and she lost it, her body arching as a second, more powerful orgasm ripped through her body.

Watching Ashley convulse with pleasure, Sam let go herself, shifting her hands to the marine's hips so she could fuck her harder. The feeling of her lover's spasming pussy transmitted straight to the specialist's clit was incredible, and the sight of her as she came, mouth open, eyes screwed tight with pleasure, was too much. It only took a few more thrusts before Sam followed her girlfriend into climax, screaming out the Spectre's name as she collapsed on top of her, her release dripping down onto her own inner thighs.

She was still shaking from the force of her orgasm when she felt Ashley's strong arms wrap around her back. "Bloody hell, Ash," she blurted out, "That was…"

She couldn't quite find the words to finish her thought but her girlfriend didn't mind. "I know," she agreed, shaking her head happily, "Definitely quite something."

Sam buried her head in Ashley's sweaty shoulder and as warm fingers caressed the small of her back, she decided to take a risk. It was a little scary, but what the hell. If Ashley could battle her way through a horde of Reapers on the Citadel, Sam could tell her what she was feeling. Placing a wet kiss on the Spectre's earlobe, she whispered, "I love you, Ashley Williams."

Mercifully, she didn't have to wait long to get her response. Her girlfriend let out a warm laugh and tilted Sam's head up so she could look into her big, brown eyes when she answered. "I love you too, Sam," she told her, affection filling her voice. "And if this is going to be our new normal," she added, "I think the future looks pretty damn good."

* * *

**And now there's just one more chapter to go. Let me know what you thought of Ash and Sam, and come back next time for an epilogue that will wrap up a bunch of loose threads and have a (perhaps) unexpected guest star. Thanks for reading.**


	18. Epilogue

"Shepard!"

The commander had just made it into the hotel restaurant when she was accosted by Samantha Traynor, the shorter woman throwing her arms around her and giving her an enthusiastic hug.

"Hey, Sam." Shepard patted her on the back. "It's been too long. You're looking well."

"You too." Samantha meant it when she said it. In the nine months since the end of the Reaper War, it looked as if her former commander had shed at least five years. Once, worry lines had marred her freckled face and there had often been bags under her sharp, green eyes but now, she wore a big smile and a cheerful air. "Come on," the specialist told her, "We're over this way."

Sam led her to an outdoor table where Ashley was waiting, her recently promoted girlfriend looking very sharp in her new commander's uniform. "Hey, skipper," Ashley said warmly. "Glad you could make it."

"Me too," she agreed. "Anyway, we could all use the break." The war might have been won, but it would be years before all of the chaos it left behind could be fully resolved. Shuttling relief supplies around, hunting down pirates, and generally helping with the clean-up wasn't the most fun in the galaxy, but it beat fighting Reapers and at last, things were getting better, enough so that Shepard could justify some shore leave.

"I'm just glad I could buy you lunch," Ashley told Shepard as the red-head sat down across from her, "I mean, it's least I can do after stealing your comm specialist." Both she and Sam would've been happy to stay on the _Normandy_, but with the shortage of Spectres, the Council had insisted the ones they had split up to cover more ground and her lover had come with her to the cruiser _Dauntless_.

"Hey, no problem," Shepard laughed, "Somehow I suspect you were able to offer her a better benefits package than I could come up with anyway."

Ashley blushed a little, suddenly getting very interested in her menu, and Sam kissed her on the cheek. "Definitely," she agreed. "The best."

Eager to change the topic, Ashley looked over at Shepard. "So, I was having drinks with Tali last night, and I heard a weird rumor about you."

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "What rumor would that be?"

"You know," the marine told her, shooting a downward glance at the commander's body, "About what Cerberus might have done to you when they brought you back."

The Hero of the Citadel groaned. "Tali knows? Let me guess: Garrus told her?"

Sam shrugged. "I guess it's hard to keep secrets from your girlfriend."

"God," Shepard laughed, "Barely out of the infirmary and she's already making trouble." Still, it was hard to be too angry at her old friend. She was so grateful Tali survived that she couldn't begrudge her a little gossiping.

"So," Samantha asked, "Are you keeping it?"

Ashley swatted at her shoulder for asking such a personal question, but Shepard's smile didn't fade. "Yeah," she told them, "I am. It was pretty weird at first, but, uh, I got used to it I guess," she explained, hoping she wasn't grinning too much. The memory of making love that morning with Liara on the couch in their hotel room was still fresh in her mind, and beneath the table, she felt a little stirring in her cock at the thought of the things her bondmate had done to her. "Still, though," she added, "I'd like to keep the whole affair quiet. I get weird enough questions from the press as it is."

"No problem," Ashley agreed. "How are you adjusting to being the galaxy's biggest rock star anyway?"

"It's pretty weird," the commander confessed. "Eating lunch without getting swarmed by the paparazzi didn't used to be such a challenging mission. We're just lucky this hotel is good at keeping them out. The room cost an arm and a leg, but as it turns out, Liara is loaded."

"Lucky you," Sam laughed. "Speaking of your bondmate, is she still planning on giving up her, uh…" She lowered her voice before finishing her thought. "Her current job."

"She is. It's too much of hassle now that we're back to peacetime. Honestly, though, there's not that much to give up at this point anyway. Most of her network got trashed by the war." A wistful smile came over her face. "This time next year, the two of us and our daughter will be living someplace nice and quiet, hopefully with a distinct lack of people shooting at us."

"You're really leaving the Alliance?", Ashley asked. "Aren't you a little young to retire?"

"For good, yeah. But I think after everything we went through, we're entitled to a few years off. When we're ready, we'll figure out something else to do. I could see trying archeology with her. God knows I've already visited my share of ruins."

"Well, Liara would probably prefer if you didn't blow quite so many of them up," Ashley laughed. She glanced at the time-code on her omni-tool. "Where is she anyway?", the marine asked. "I thought she was going to be joining us."

"She should be here soon," Shepard replied, "She's just keeping an old promise."

* * *

Oriana Lawson didn't know quite what to expect. Pretty much everyone left alive in the galaxy knew who Liara T'Soni was, and a 20-year-old college student, even a very talented one, was shocked to receive a seemingly genuine extranet message informing her that the asari wanted to meet with her. Oriana was too smart not to have realized that someone powerful had taken an interest in her family, but as she walked up the stairs to Liara's office, she couldn't for the life of her figure out why.

There was a reception desk outside the office, but since no one was sitting at it, Oriana decided to just go straight in. Behind the desk inside sat the famous asari, dressed in a long white coat, dark blue pants and a loose turquoise top. Beneath it, Oriana could see a slight bulge in her stomach, but that was hardly a surprise; half the celebrity media in the galaxy seemed to be focused on the child she and Shepard were going to have.

Liara looked up when the human entered, extending a friendly smile. "Hello, Oriana," she said briskly. "I'm glad you could make it."

"I'm sorry about coming in unannounced, Doctor T'Soni," she said, still a little nervous at meeting someone like her. "There was no one at the desk."

"Oh, don't worry," Liara said with a dismissive gesture. "I had to let the woman who worked there go some time ago, and since I rarely use this office anymore, I never replaced her." She gestured to a chair in front of her desk. "Please, have a seat."

Oriana did as she was bid, and the asari continued, "I assume you're wondering about the purpose of my message."

She nodded. "I am. I mean, I'd figured out somebody was pulling strings for my family, but I had no idea it was you."

Liara was amused. The sudden job offer for Oriana's father on Ilium, the first-class flight arranged on short notice when the war made such things almost impossible to do, the occasional observers she'd sent to keep an eye on the family: she couldn't be surprised that someone as intelligent as Miranda Lawson's sister had noticed a pattern.

"So," Liara told her, "I know you are aware that you were adopted as an infant, but what you may not be aware of are the unusual circumstances behind that adoption." Oriana shook her head, and Liara touched a button on her omni-tool. "The file I have just sent you contains some basic information; please take a few moments to look at it."

The Shadow Broker sat quietly while Oriana pulled up her own omni-tool and studied the information she'd been given. It was interesting for Liara to watch her read; on the surface, she looked so like her sister, and yet where Miranda had always carefully controlled her emotions, there was something guileless about the younger Lawson. Liara could see surprise, confusion, and some small bit of sadness in her eyes as she learned of the father who had ordered her creation and the sister who had given up everything to rescue her.

When she finished, the young human looked up at Liara. "Why are you telling me this all?", she asked, sounding a bit agitated. "What's your connection to me?"

"I knew your sister, Miranda," she explained. "After escaping with you, she eventually became a high-ranking member of Cerberus, which brought us into contact a few years before the war."

Oriana blanched. "What was she like?", she asked nervously. "I mean, I know what they say about Cerberus, about what they did. Was she a monster? She did rescue me after all."

Liara had thought for a long time about what she would say when Oriana asked her this question. In the end, she had decided on a mild version of the truth. Her sister didn't need to hear all of the gory details of Miranda's misdeeds, but at the same time, the operative had been a blunt person. She wouldn't have wanted her sister to have a sugar-coated version of the past.

"It is complicated," she told her. "There were things she did as a member of Cerberus that were morally questionable, even villainous. We fought rather viciously at times. But there was also much to be said on her behalf. What she did, she did because she believed it was in the best interests of humanity, or to protect you, and when she realized the depths of the Illusive Man's evil, she helped Shepard to stop him."

"My sister knew Shepard?" Inwardly, Liara laughed to herself. The mention of her bondmate's name seldom failed to get people's attention. "Were they friends?"

"No," Liara admitted, "But in time they came to respect each other as comrades in arms, as did I. Miranda was instrumental in helping Shepard to recover after…" She paused, never quite certain how to describe what had happened to her bondmate. "After a very serious injury and in the end, she gave her life fighting beside her, which is why before she died, I made your sister a promise that I would let you know the sacrifices that she made for you and for the galaxy."

"Thank you," Oriana replied. "I guess all kids like me wonder about where they came from. I always imagined it was something mysterious and cool, but I have to admit, I never could've come up with this." She shook her head. "It's a lot to process, but I'm glad I have the truth now. I wish I could have spent time with Miranda, but it's good to know I had a sister that loved me and looked out for me."

"You are most welcome, Oriana. And," she added, "If you have any further questions, please let me know."

The student got up to leave, but before she made it to the door, a final concern occurred to her. "Doctor T'Soni," she asked, "Do I need to be worried about my father finding me again now that the war's over?" From the file she'd been sent, she understood why Miranda had taken her away from the man; he seemed to be quite a nasty piece of work.

"Do an extranet search for his name," Liara told her enigmatically. "I think you'll be just fine."

Oriana left the office and once she was back out in the streets of Ilium, she did as Liara had suggested. As the headline from 6 months earlier came up on her omni-tool's screen she gasped slightly. "Notorious Industrialist Henry Lawson Killed in Unexplained Skycar Crash." Liara might not have been her sister's friend, but Oriana was damn glad she hadn't ended up as her enemy.

* * *

By the time Liara got to the hotel restaurant, Shepard and her former crewmates were already eating and when she approached the table, her bondmate turned around at the sound of her footsteps. "Hey, sweetheart," she told her, "I didn't know what you wanted to eat, but I ordered you a fasi berry smoothie." The last few months of her pregnancy, Liara had been craving those on a fairly regular basis, and she rewarded the commander's thoughtfulness with a warm kiss.

Sitting down next to Shepard, she took a sip of her drink, savoring its sweet flavor. "I'm sorry for my lateness."

"No worries," her commander told her, "How did the meeting go?"

"Well enough, I think, under the circumstances. It was a bit odd though . Oriana looks so like her."

"Miranda's clone sister?", Ashley asked, trying to resist the urge to rub Liara's belly. Her sisters always hated that. "What's she like?"

"That's part of what made it strange. Aside from her intelligence, she is little like her sister. She is far more innocent and emotionally open."

"Innocent and open?" Sam's tone was made it clear she was surprised by that. "Hard to believe she's related to Miranda."

Shepard thought of her own clone, the monster that tried to kill her friends, who threatened to assault Liara, and what her bondmate had told her after that mission where they she killed her. "Different lives, different personalities," she told the specialist. "We're not just our genes. We're what life makes of us."

"And what we make of it," Liara added, and Shepard smiled in agreement, a warmth filling her heart as she put her arm around the shoulder of the woman she loved, the woman who had most certainly helped her to make the best of what life had thrown at her.

* * *

**And that's a wrap. Hope you enjoyed this story's mixture of smut, romance, and action; I definitely enjoyed writing it. If you're interested, feel free to check out Flesh is Weak, a series of smutty AU one-shots with this Shepard, and my current other story, Search and Rescue, featuring Ashley and Sha'ira. Thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, and faved this story. I really appreciated it.**


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